Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Journaling and Labyrinths

By Susan Borkin

I hate to begin an article with a food reference, but here it is. I really like chocolate. Yum! I really like peanut butter. Yum! Eating both together is Double Yum!

I don’t know about you, but that’s how I feel when I put together two of my passions—Double yum, double delicious. Enough about food.

I have been working in the field of journal writing for decades and in labyrinth facilitation for fewer years, but with no less passion. What has drawn me to these two seemingly disparate areas?

What do journaling and the labyrinth have in common and what makes them so delicious together?

Clarity and Healing.

We already know that journaling provides both clarity and healing. Daily or even frequent labyrinth walking provides clarity and healing as well.

Familiar Yet New.

We know that journal writing entries frequently feel familiar when we begin writing, but we also know that no two entries are ever the same. The same is true with the labyrinth. The walk may seem familiar at the beginning, but no two labyrinth walks are ever the same.

Off-Center to Balanced.

We know that not every single journal entry flows smoothly from our pens. It is highly likely that even feeling off-center at the beginning of an entry, can result in feeling balanced at the end. The same holds true for a labyrinth walk. Sometimes at the beginning of a walk you may feel confused, off-center, or even a little dizzy with the twists and turns of a labyrinth. But as you complete your walk, you are likely to feel more centered and balanced.

Get to Where You Need to Go.

While writing a journal entry, you will sometimes feel twists and turns in the process, but eventually you will undoubtedly get to where you need to go. In a labyrinth walk, you are never walking a straight line, rather you walk a line that curves and seems to backtrack. Yet eventually you will get to where you need to go.

Closer Than You Know.

Journaling can feel like just a jumble of words and unexpectedly it can begin to make sense. On the labyrinth, when you feel you are furthest away from the center, or at the end of your walk, you are closer than you think.

Chaos to Calm.

At the beginning of a journal entry, your thoughts and feelings may seem chaotic, but as you write you are likely to feel increasingly calm. At the beginning of a labyrinth walk, your thoughts and feelings may seem chaotic, but you are likely to feel increasingly calm.

Frequency.

Finally, the more frequently you journal, the more insight you are likely to have. Also true, the more frequently you walk the labyrinth, the more helpful it becomes.

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