Day 11:

Zen. I've always thought it would be fun to build a labyrinth in our backyard. But the swings, slides and sandboxes have held sway over those property rights in recent years.  The other day I was searching for an email address for a cool guy I know named Jelly. I ran across his blog, which he calls a "blawg." As it turns out, his latest post is a heartfelt celebration of the labyrinth, which made me realize that while I had always been intrigued by the idea, I had never actually walked one. This being a perfect "14 days" activity, I got a recommendation and headed out.

The first thing I learned is that I apparently suffer from a crazy romantic notion that the perfect labyrinth is set in stones and pavers amidst a lovely Shakespearean garden.  Needless to say, I was a bit puzzled as I arrived at an empty parking lot in southeast Portland, with noisy traffic and people passing by to find a labyrinth made of parking stripe paint applied on cracked and mossy pavement. This was the favored recommendation? Yet, with a trusting mind, I took a breath and a step. Here's what I discovered:

1) It's an awesome metaphor. As you survey the scene from the outside, you believe you know where the path will take you, but the minute you step inside, it doesn't go at all where you thought it would. But you just have to keep following in order to get to the center.

2) As an experience, it was similar to my sometimes ill-fated yoga efforts. It was extremely difficult to concentrate on where I was in the moment and I wanted so badly to look ahead to see where the next turn would take me.  I actually did look a few times and am thankful there was not some sort of biblical punishment applied.

3) In the end, the cracking paint and surroundings didn't matter at all. The traffic and people faded to complete unimportance. It was just me, alone in my head having a few big, clear thoughts which will remain unshared.

4) I think I'm a fan.