“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

J.R.R. Tolkein, from The Lord of the Rings

Wandering is a deeply spiritual thing. It throws us into ourselves in a way that makes us realize how unseated we are in the world, how our physical self is somehow not all that we are, but also and at the same time it is everything we are. Spirituality loves a paradox.

There is no formal definition that distinguishes a labyrinth from a maze, but one definition is that a labyrinth has a single, circuitous path, while a maze is a puzzle to be navigated and solved. There’s a reason why labyrinths are a shared phenomenon in different spiritual traditions and mythologies, while mazes often show up in games and post-apocalyptic youth literature.

A spiritual practice like walking a labyrinth is a chance to wander on purpose. And it truly captures how powerful a spiritual practice can be––a way of letting us inhabit that place in which we are present in our mind, but also absent from it, just as we are present in our body but also absent from it. As you wander you must consider every step. And as you consider every step, each step becomes like a pulse linking you to the tempo of the universe.

This week, Shirley Nelson is leading a labyrinth walk that was planned by an awesome small group from UUCC. It’s an extraordinary chance to wander, and in the process, to find a part of ourselves. If that kind of spiritual practice sounds meaningful to you, I hope you’ll join.

Sometimes it is hard to tap into our spiritual selves or find time to nurture our creativity and intellectual curiosity. Here is a section that reflects on some nourishing materials from around the web and related media channels in order to get us thinking, get us feeling, and get us reflecting on the lives we are living in this big world. **Some Adult/Mature Themes May Appear in Links and Other Attached Material**

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Allan T. Georgia, MDiv, MTS, PhD

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