I’ve been thinking a lot about this whole crazy dream of mine to build Triple Spiral Labyrinths all over the world, so that others can experience this pattern for themselves. As far as I can tell, it’s a brand-new walking pattern. I’m not sure why, because it’s also the Celtic symbol for Life. So, the form has been around for thousands of years, and yet when I do research, I can’t find actual triple spiral labyrinths on the land more recent than a few years ago.
I am incredibly grateful that Patria and Geoff Brown went to Ireland, got inspired by the carving on the rock outside the passage mound at Newgrange, and then actually came home and built a triple spiral labyrinth based on the picture they took of the carving. They spend a long time clearing the land so that they could build it there in their own magical spot.
In many respects, the efforts they went to to bring their labyrinth to life far surpass what I had to do. The land here was already cleared, although I suppose I could argue that, really, Mark did the land-clearing work a long time ago. Where the maiden sits now is where our 20′ x 40′ sandbox and play structure were, and the crone and part of the mother are on top of our old garden plot (we ended up moving it because the redwood tree got too big and the roots filled the area where the garden was, making it difficult to till). So, now that I think about it, Mark cleared this area a long time ago, and then kept it clear.
Hmmmm, I’m experiencing waves of gratitude for all the different ways that Mark has cleared the way for me to be able to feel and act on the call to bring this pattern to life. I keep thinking that I have to do this whole built-the-labyrinths thing by myself, completely forgetting that I haven’t done any of this by myself. I have had the support of so many different people, in so many different ways. I have had the support of family and friends my entire life. In my hubris, I seem to have forgotten their efforts, their role. I’m not beating myself up about this (that’s silly and frankly a waste of time and energy), but what I am doing is sending out waves of gratitude and thanks to all of you who have loved me up and challenged me, picked me up when I fell down, kicked me in the butt when I needed that.
Truly, I would not be here, doing this, if not for each of you! Mom, my three Dads, my brother, my sister, my husband, my children, all of my friends — the ones I was close to before, the ones I am close to now, and the ones I will be close to in the future. And then when I look past the humans in my life, all the animals start to show up.
Just this morning I was thinking about just how grateful I am that I’ve started paying attention, really paying attention to the birds around me. There are so many things that I see now that I never noticed before. I notice movement in the trees now, getting curious about what kind of bird might be making the branches move like that.
Eating breakfast outside this morning, I watched a smallish, greenish, brownish bird flutter down to drink from the pond. And then a bit later, a larger (though still small) brownish bird flew down. Different flight pattern. That’s something that I wouldn’t have even registered a few months ago, nor the size difference. I still don’t know the names of most of the birds who’re currently migrating through this beautiful corner of the world I live in, but I’m noticing the different songs, the different sizes of the birds, how they’re flying, whether they’re hanging out mostly on the ground, or up five feet in the bushes, at the tops of the medium-size trees or the tops of the much taller trees that line our property. So many things to notice! And so many things to get curious about.
And then I think, if all these bird things have been here for all these years without my noticing, what other cool things are there around me that I just haven’t noticed yet. Not that they weren’t there, but that I was putting my attention elsewhere.
I’m loving watching where my mind takes me, and how easy it is to bring it back to curiosity these days. Bringing it back from worry or fear is a much simpler process. A simple, “hello, I hear you, and then oooh! Look at that bird!” shifts those patterns so quickly! It’s not that I don’t plan for things, I just plan for things from a state of wonder rather than fear.
Am I always in this state of wonder? Not yet, but more and more of my days are spent in this open space of curiosity and gratitude.
