A Perfect Place to Reflect and Meditate: A Labyrinth in St. Louis

All is quiet at 3:00 A.M. The night has a calming effect. The birds are still asleep and the squirrels are snuggled in their nests. A stray dog might be heard barking at a scurrying raccoon foraging for a discarded banana peel, the occasional gurgling of a frog or in the distance a single car traversing the highway, but other than that, silence.

Changes were about to become the order of life, not only for me, but also for my son. He is entering college and possibly faces a health issue. I'm simply unhappy with my current employment, but that is nothing new in my life. Yet, changes, the mere thought of changes, create a heightened level of anxiety that must be entertained and relieved.

I decided that this was the morning to take a short walk - a spiritual walk - a spiritual journey. The day before, I asked my son to walk with me, but initially he declined fearing that the walk might interfere with a doctor's appointment. He called back later and asked, " What time?" "5:30," I replied. The momentary silence was deafening. After gaining his breath, he accepted the invitation and I told him I would call on the way over.

We began our day as planned, stopping at a nearby convenience store for an on the go breakfast of chocolate long johns and chocolate milk, as we often did when I drove him to school in the morning. I played chauffer to both of my children in their first two years of high school before they learned to drive and on this morning I soon learned how much I missed those mornings of quality time that we shared.

We soon arrived at our destination in a well to do suburb of St. Louis. The houses here cost more than I have made in a life time. And in this quiet community lays the Mercy Center, a 70 acre conference and retreat campus sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy and in the midst of the serene campus, a labyrinth sits.

Some mistakenly equate a labyrinth with a maze, but there is a remarkable difference in the construction of the two. A maze is a puzzle where one is challenged to guess the path taken in order to exit. A labyrinth has a defined path from entrance to the center and then back from the center to the entrance.

Walking the labyrinth takes one on a spiritual journey During the journey, one becomes oblivious to direction and time, concentrating instead on reaching the center of both the labyrinth and ourselves. A time to meditate and reflect on where we have been and , more importantly, where we are going.

We walked quietly, each wrapped in our own thoughts, to the center. A tree sits in the center surrounded by stumps on which one can sit and commune with whomever you choose to be your God or Creator. The labyrinth is impartial to specific denominations or beliefs. We sat for a short time enjoying the tranquility and a breathtaking sunrise. I prayed as I don't think I have ever prayed in my life. When we were finished, we walked the same path out. No puzzles; no surprises.

My son's test results came back negative. I am thankful for that and for having another morning of quality time with him.