Walking The Path Of Pi
Children wind through each pie-slice sector of the circular labyrinth. They travel inward toward the center point then back out again at an angle, moving slice by slice in a clockwise direction. When they have traveled full circle, they leave the sectors and enter a counter clockwise path (the “crust”) that encircles the sectors. Then they turn, heading in the opposite direction along a parallel path and exit the pie-shaped labyrinth near its entrance. At this point, some of the children chose to reenter the labyrinth for another journey through the pie—a never-ending possibility!
I had the pleasure to create this labyrinth with children on two occasions, at a church and at a middle school. The kids were celebrating Pi Day by creating a labyrinth in the shape of a pie. A pie, of course, is round like a circle and manifests the properties of Pi.
Creating a Pie / Pi labyrinth at church.
A circle, having no beginning or end, symbolizes wholeness, unity, the cycles of life, and eternity. It is a fundamental shape arising in many forms of Nature—bubbles, berries, tree rings, the moon, a grain of pollen, the human eye, dandelions gone to seed, a fairy ring, and more. A circle is also found in mandalas, medicine wheels, and labyrinths. These sacred forms are created by humans to lead us into the experience of mystery.
Middle schoolers run through the labyrinth. A trust walk through the labyrinth.
A perfect circle lends itself to the mathematical expression of Pi, the ratio of its circumference to its diameter. This yields the transcendental number 3.141592…
Like a circle, this number is without end, leading us on a journey of ever-emerging possibilities. Pi has been calculated to 22 trillion digits and counting. We may wonder: What possibilities will the next digit hold for us?; How will our reality change from one decimal place to the next?; Will we ever know the true nature of Pi, or for that matter, of life?
Such existential questioning may inspire awe and lead to leaps of intuition or may cause us to be consumed with future possibilities and lose sight of the present moment. Like children traveling the path of Pi, we can be open to possibilities and embrace each moment, knowing that mystery is eternal.
For all that is,
