Christiana Soumakis talk: Labyrinths

Christiana Soumakis is a friend of Dr. Redick's, an accomplished pilgrimage scholar and pilgrim in her own right, and this week she came to speak to us about her journey in life, and on labyrinths.

The central idea that she kept falling back to throughout her talk was that of the construction and purpose of a labyrinth. What is the purpose of a labyrinth? What distinguishes it from a maze? Why does such a distinction matter? A maze is such a thing which is designed as a twisting mess of corridors and dead ends, hoping to confuse someone, inspiring fear or unease or any of the emotions which lead to the feeling of helplessness. A labyrinth is a path, one built out of a convoluted mess of twists and turns which is has but one path, one way through, and one outcome, but with the purpose of allowing one to find an understanding of their situation, no matter what that situation is. 

How does the labyrinth do that? Labyrinths by nature, allow for one to approach a goal in a convoluted route, but one that inevitably brings them closer. Even in times where it appears that one is growing further from their desired destination, the labyrinth inevitably brings its traveler to bear at the end of the road. Now this convolution and defined ending allow for a structuring to be placed within the path, and for time to be set aside. One of the main points of pilgrimage is to find answers, be that from god or from the self, and in searching for answers, time must be offered up in trade. Revelations do not happen instantly, they are not some spontaneous happening of an "egads" or "eureka" they are quiet, they are slow, and they require one to be seeking them. The inspiration to find such answers maty be spontaneous however, as Ms. Soumakis began her intent to pilgrimage after taking a walk on the beach.

Why a labyrinth? Because of an idea that was also present in the words of Shayla “Kiddo” Paradeis,

that you are not lost, just in the process of finding your way. A hopeful  idea which is reflected in the maze vs. labyrinth discussion. Many people may view life as a maze, full of unpredictable twists and turns and something to be feared. If the idea is rather that life is a labyrinth, then the way that the path is set is not one which is deigned to lead one astray, but rather one which is inevitable in its leading of one to their destination. In the moving along a path that may not feel right, but trusting in its intent to bring you to the destination, then introspection can take up one's mental acuity, and it can be spent in the contemplation of the self and its questions.

I think this is the most important idea to be taken from Christiana Soumakis's talk, though there were many, and her indomitable spirit in the face of adversity and use of her experience to help others are also important and deserving of writings in their own right, the idea of the labyrinth of life is most important to me and our discussions in this class. The journey may take one along paths unfamiliar, strange, or even counterintuitive to the end goal, but the answers we seek are there in them, the meaning made along a journey is the destination, even if it isn't the goal.

So, walk the labyrinth. Trust it to bring you where you will need to be, because life isn't a maze, its a path you walk, and in your walking of it you can find the meaning that is right for you.

Notes used

 Knows kip, just got back from the pilgrimage symposium, and a class from where they enacted something they talked about at the conference

walked the camino 5 times, from france and portugal, not 5 each, 3 france, 2 portugal

labyrinths

special ed kid, couldn't read till 4th grade, ride a bike till 17, was told she would never play an instrument, shse knew she was smart even while she was "helpless" in third grade, kept losing her pencil and her seat neighbors were fed up. For 180 days she fought against it

when she got to middle school she started keeping many which she would lend to others so they wouldn't have to go through what she went through. 

Inexplicable in your failure, labels help people to react and act appropriately to people with the label. When she finds herself in a situation where she is "failing" she flashes back to how she felt back in third grade.

She started to grow into herself as she grew and was able to get up into ap classes and she still felt not normal. She was shy, she wasn't a good writer, she couldn't sit still, but she started working with special ed kids and found herself being "unnaturally good" at helping them. 

She was walking on the beach a she worked her way through college and she got the idea to walk el camino and after training in her neighborhood and various measures she set up for herself she went in 2022. 

She lose pencils, she doesn't climb mountains, so she decided to charge headfirst into the fears.

She got to the first town and it was at night, dark, alone, without the ability to speak or read the language and she was too disoriented to even read the map. She was worried she was to die in some town in france unable to navigate through the town. She heard a voice "open your guidebook and slow down" 

She found the mark of a church and found her way out of the town and walked the trail, again and again, she didn't believe she could do it and then she was writing about the trail and she figured out she had a lot of meaning making to do when she got  home. 

Hitting the wall and moving THROUGH it,

finding yourself stuck and failing at something which your expectations or others seem to be fine with, hit the wall and keep going

She made a labyrinth in class today, it is not a maze, a maze is supposed to make you lost, to inspire fear or worry or confusion. Life is kind of like a maze, as its a little topsy turvey, but a labyrinth is there to guide you along. There is one path which leads to the center, but it does not approach the goal in a direct path. The labyrinth mimics a pilgrimage, leading you to a goal through unconventional paths which allow you to think on a question and leave with an answer.

All of her students took the path of the labyrinth, one of them took it slow, trying to meditate, another walked through like it was a faith exercise. The question and path is one's own, lead with your own feet, walk your own journey, don't let someone else define your pilgrimage.

"It doesn't get easier, you just get stronger"

"I am not 7 years old without a pencil right now" we can et past the panic that infected us in the past

breaking out the norm and the mean was euphoric and terrifying, dilating the soul like a pupil to let in as much of life/light as possible

it felt like i had lived my entire life in a  microcosm in the trail and never being able to go back to the trail in the same way again sent her into a nostalgic depression in seeing herself compared to who she was on the tail, it helped her go back to the trail