Elemental Journey

I walk the curving path at dusk along the banks of the Virgin River. Turbulent and rising from snowmelt in distant mountains, the river is silty and white-capped, illumined by the waning light of day. Dim lit, the soft dirt path has four circuits, defined by its orange outline of cotton cord. The Watchman, an immense sandstone peak, looms above, now a silhouette against the eastern sky where stars are beginning to materialize. My senses are filled by the roar of rapids as I meander inward to the center then back out again to the entrance of the labyrinth. All the while, the Watchman, a majestic, geologic guardian, shelters me on my journey.

The preceding narrative describes walking a labyrinth at Zion National Park in southern Utah. I built this labyrinth at our campsite as a way to connect and commune with the landscape, to cultivate and experience an intensified sense of place. While at Zion, my husband and I explored trails winding up the face of massive sandstone cliffs millions of years in the making. The narrow yet rushing Virgin River and its tributaries sliced through strata, layer by layer, creating a canyon of incredible grandeur and majesty. Everywhere we wandered, we felt embraced by ancient rock and by a presence more powerful and primal than life itself.

At the close of each day, we recounted our journey together, integrating the experiences into the larger fabric of our lives. The labyrinth, too, was a means of integration, a path of unfolding and enfolding, weaving together the many aspects of our elemental journey.

For all that is,