Some time ago I was hiking in the Swabian Alps [a low mountain range in southern Germany]. The ruins of a castle on the mountain across from me were lying in the sunshine and seemed to invite me to come and experience the sunset from there.
As a strong hiker I was confident I would get there by sunset. But the trail sign first sent me around the mountain to its backside. I walked and walked, and slowly began to be concerned. Was this the right path? It ascended the mountain only very gradually, and it led me in a direction away from the castle ruins. Had I missed a signpost? Should I turn around?
In spite of these concerns, I kept moving forward faster and faster. I began to think of a labyrinth. And I don’t mean a maze such as the ones that are often cut into corn fields in the fall, with many paths that lead nowhere. A labyrinth in its narrower sense is an old symbol that can be found in early Christianity. Maybe the one most people know is the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth.
