pilgrimage without leaving home

i have a duplicate of the most famous middle ages labyrinth sitting on my desk at work. my wife gave it to me for Christmas one year and it has been a tiny blessing and reminder of the concepts of pilgrimage and prayer. my labyrinth is made of metal and it comes with it's own little travel stick with which i can trace my path as i pilgrimage my way to God, after all since it sits on my desk you have to realize it's only 3 inches tall.

here, go check this out, and you'll see pics of the original that i'd love to go and walk one day. the tiles of the floor have been worn so much over the centuries as priests, nuns, monks and saints kneeled their way through the labyrinth that the cathedral only opens the labyrinth up on Friday afternoons or something and you have to have an appt to be able to walk it anymore.

for me the spiritual exercise involved is in the realization of the journey. i've walked labyrinth's in backyards and i often stop along the path to ponder choices in my journey and pray in Thanksgiving that God is found along the way. the temptation when you get to the middle is to assume that you've arrived, that you've found God but in truth, the middle isn't the goal it's just another stop on the way. the goal is the pilgrimage, it's the prayer that you take part in along the way.

burdens weigh you down? pray about it. if it helps then get your own little handsized labyrinth and pray as you pilgrimage for five minutes.

some co-workers have come by my desk, asked about it, picked it up and started to follow the trail. curious that nobody has ever finished it and they put it down in frustration of how long they have to be introspective as they trace the journey. sad but true.

so who's up for a trip to Chartres France? we can walk together and pray our way together. if not then i can still just journey my way toward God as i sit at my desk at work.