March 22, 2015 - 16:27
The mud from the soft ground added character to my green Nike running shoes as I walked towards a yellow note hanging from a tree branch with my name written on it. I decided to interact with my site differently today by standing under the branches. I excitingly opened the plastic ziplock bag and took out the note. The note read:
"As I walk in the labyrinth - circling, doubling back, looking at where I once was and where I am now, retracing steps and memory, feeling like the raw winter chill seep through my coat gently, like so many cold hands on my skin - I'm reminded of a poem by Ramer Maira Rilke, enclosed here."
The poems left for me were:
Wachsenden Ringen von Rainer Maria Rilke
Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen,
die sich über die Dinge ziehn.
Ich werde den letzten vielleicht nicht vollbringen,
aber versuchen will ich ihn.
Ich kreise um Gott, um den uralten Turm,
und ich kreise jahrtausendelang;
und ich weiß noch nicht: bin ich ein Falke, ein Sturm
oder ein großer Gesang.
Widening Circles by Rainer Maria Rilke
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I've been circling for thousands of years
and I still don't know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
Time passed by slowly as I continued to stand in my spot. I could see the sun rising high as the sky turned from blue to blinding blue. My feet sinked into the mud as my body weighed me down. It was a warm and sunny afternoon. I read the poem and quickly made sense of how the labyrinth can remind one of widening circles. The poem reminded me of what I posted in the beginning about labyrinths. I talked about how spirituality and its relation to labyrinths. Spirituality takes us out of the present and brings us into an introspective state of identity where we explore the path behind us, how far we have gone, and where it might lead. Some may think that their lives are like labyrinths while others think that their lives are like mazes. Both have twists and turns, however, a labyrinth only has one path. This path is very symbolic in that it guides us to the next path we might take in the maze or it can lead us backwards. Perhaps all these twists and turns are just widening circles after all.
I am also still questioning why the person left the poem for me in two different languanges, one in English and one in German (I think). Maybe s/he identifies as both? Interesting...