The labyrinth, when you look at it, seems pretty level. It's approximately centered in a field of about half an acre, with maple trees along the road in front of it, and various hardwoods along the creek behind it. I really only realized how not level it was when I tried to mow it.
When we first restored the labyrinth, tilled the path, took out the marker stakes, and mowed the whole area with a rough field mower, it was fine. But after we spent several days laying feed sacks in the paths to discourage weeds, then covering the sacks with a layer of chips, so that the whole thing looked really nice, I gave the chips some time to settle and then tried to mow it with my regular riding mower.
The mower deck ran into a sort of ridge, took out a whole row of sacks, and wrapped them inextricably around the blades, belts, and pulley, chips and all.
Looking a little more closely, I discovered that the labyrinth is on two distinct levels. The eastern half is a good foot or more higher than the western half, with a neat bank down the middle, as if a small tectonic plate sank under one side. It sounds as if it would be readily noticeable, but it isn't. Now that I've lived here a few years, I also know that the whole western half of the field sits underwater if we have a lot of rain in a short period.
Sometimes the high points and low points in life are obvious. Wedding--high point. Failing an important test--low point. Birth of a baby--high point. Serious illness--low point. Graduating summa cum laude--high point. Loss of a loved one--very low point.
Other times, they're not so noticeable at first. It's as if the tectonic plates that underpin our lives shift just enough to make us feel off-balance, but we're not really sure why. Then, suddenly an ordinary event rips off and tangles some achievements around our best-laid plans and we have some regrouping and reordering to do.
It's okay. Happens in the best families. The overall layout of the plan for our life's path is worth the extra work, even if it means some do-overs and improvising. What's a little off-kilter in your life lately? What will it take to refigure and try again?
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