The Journey, Not the Destination

The Chartes labyrinth design

The popular definition of labyrinth is maze. That venerable meaning harks back to Greek mythology, which describes how the Minotaur was trapped in the Labyrinth, a prison with branching paths and dead ends.

There's another ancient meaning which is gaining purchase among enthusiasts worldwide. In a unicursal labyrinth the wanderer traces a meandering but singular path to the center, then exits by retracing the path.

At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are.

The traveler doesn't get lost in the unicursal labyrinth; he empties the mind of the world's concerns and "finds" himself in the center, then slowly returns to the world.

(Your humble observer/truth-seeker has walked both labyrinths at Grace Cathedral but has found that the mere act of walking [but yes, I can chew gum at the same time] makes him too distracted to meditate. Labyrinths don't work for me, but perhaps they can work for you, dear reader.)

The $500,000 labyrinth comes with a 300-ft-long fieldstone wall (WSJ Photo)

In America, the land of going overboard, it's possible to spend up to $500,000 constructing a labyrinth on one's property. For homeowners on a budget The Labyrinth Company sells paver-brick kits ($4,000-$28,000) for the back yard.

Happy Trails!