At the weekend I attended a meet up of labyrinth enthusiasts at the turf maze in Hilton, Cambridgeshire. (I'm now wondering what the collective word for a meet up of labyrinth enthusiasts should be!) I'd been hoping to attend this for some time, I'd been in touch with the organisers, and when I managed to organise a taxi share for the last part of the journey I decided it was a sign and booked my ticket!
There were several talks from experts and I learnt some new information about labyrinths and how they are being used in settings like schools and universities. I think my two favourite parts of the day were the chance to walk two labyrinths, both this gorgeous turf labyrinth in the village, and a portable canvas labyrinth inside the village hall, as well as a very grounding meditation on a finger labyrinth at the start of the day, and the great spacing of the day which enabled lots of time for doing what you enjoyed and meeting new people and making connections. Often when you attend events it can seem that they are packed full - something I find hard as I struggle with my attention and sitting still these days for any length of time - and because it leaves me feeling slightly too full - like my soul ate too much up and I don't have room to digest it all. Saturday was perfect - just enough information, with lots of time to connect. I'm excited to find out that there are some possibilities to attend other labyrinth events in the UK later this year.
You can find some of these events at UK facilitators here by Jan Sellers and Kaye Barrett.
Labyrinths in Britain who organised this event have a facebook page here.
Also check out the resources at Labyrinthos, Veriditas an organisation based in the UK who offer events and facilitator training, and The Labyrinth Society who have a worldwide labyrinth locator on their site.
I've been a little quieter than normal as I've had a much waited for holiday with my family! One of my nephews got married just outside Skipton and we made a week of it, travelling by train and staying in a little cottage in the centre of Skipton. I was very ready for a holiday! I seem to have had a constant run of things to do and think about recently, and it was nice to focus just on family and having fun!
Skipton itself is an area I haven't really been to although I've spent some time fairly close. It's a lovely area and I would definitely go back. I'm always happy when I can see hills/mountains (not something we see that much of now I am in Essex!) and we went to Malham for a day out with my extended family to see the animal safari which was great fun - one of my twins even won the duck race which he was super pleased about.
For me, I definitely need these time outs. Holidays are a permission slip for me to have fun - whilst at home I can always think of all the things that need doing, on holiday you are pretty much free from that pressure and can just enjoy things as they are. Which in this case was lots of family time, eating nice food, relaxing, listening to the radio, reading a book, playing games with the boys and doing a fabulous mix of things we love to do and things that appeal to the boys.
I've felt very much sobered and upset by the recent events in the UK, both the London event as I know the area well, and the Manchester event because it hit so many vulnerable people, children just out for a lovely time together. I don't know what the answers are. I do know that the feeling I get, the joy of doing things I love, with people I love, and seeing the amazing, empathetically run, and charged event on the concert from Ariana Grande, feels like part of the answer. When we do the things we love, the things we want, the things our soul cries out for, then we have that kernel of hope that helps us find our own little ways through. Love, light and prayers for those who are suffering at this time.
Stay safe, stay loving, art friends.
