A labyrinth is a symbol that relates to wholeness. Walking a labyrinth to its sweet spot at the center represents our own journey within, and then back out again.
A labyrinth is not a maze. Whereas a maze has many paths and is like a puzzle to be solved, the path of a labyrinth is unicursal, meaning it winds inward onto itself and then back out. The roots of the word are simple and straightforward, consisting of ‘uni’ which means one, and ‘cursal’, or course. One course. One path. The fact that a labyrinth design is unicursal means there is only one path in a labyrinth; the path in is also the way out. Or, in other words, the only way out is through.
For UVa men’s basketball, the last year has been like a labyrinthine journey. This time last year, the team sat in the center of the sprial, in a place of historical distinction, with a “painful gift” as Coach Bennett called it. However, as we know now, this painful gift was part of the return journey. A huge part in fact, a catalyst like no other. Maybe it had to happen because the labyrinth’s path is unicursal. You leave the labyrinth the same way you go in. If you pay attention to your steps, if you have pillars to guide you, you can return whole from the journey within. Would they have won the title without the defeat last year? We will never know. Coach Bennett always reminded ‘it’s life, it’s life.’ When we compete, we need to be ready for the hills and the valleys. The only way out is through, step by step.
If you have ever walked a labyrinth, you can relate to the shifting sensations and perspectives that occur as you wind your way on the path. With each step, things might look different than the step before. Sometimes you don’t know exactly where you are on the path. On the journey in, there are points where the center (or the perceived ‘destination’ if we are not mindful) seems so close, and other points where it seems so far. Then on the return, if you forget and try to look ahead to an end point, it can also seem illusory, so close at some points and so far away at others, depending on your steps and your perspective. It is hard to tell where or when the journey will end. But the labyrinth design shows us that the way in is also the way out. The way out comes from the journey within. UVa’s journey from last year to this year was unicursal, and the destination was in the journey.
What a journey inward and back out through the labyrinth. The unicurse is good.
