The Peaceful Path

	Tranquil Twists

I saw my first labyrinth on my way to kickball.

Someone had burned it onto the field behind the art gallery where we practiced, and left a bunch of fliers explaining what it was -- a winding path that twists and turns in on itself, meant to promote meditation and use of the creative, nonlinear side of the brain of those who walk it.

Appropriate enough, I thought while looking at it, since the pattern kind of resembled a brain.

I tried it.

And once I overcame the ridiculousness of walking in circles in the middle of an open field, I got into a soothing rhythm.

This particular labyrinth -- which I later discovered was a Chartres labyrinth, named after the original, in the Chartres cathedral in France, and one of the most popular designs -- winds tightly around and constantly doubles back on itself.

It seems designed specifically so the most straightforward and logical path is not the one that leads to the center. ...