Labyrinth: staying on the path even though you may loop back on yourself
or the messy middle of transitional times in our lives
Dear all
If you are new here, hello and welcome! I am Mel Parks and I have been running creative writing workshops in Sussex, UK for ten years while being a freelance writer, researcher and editor. I began this Substack, Awen, in 2022 as a gathering place for my thoughts about the writing process and to share some stories and creative inspiration along the way. Awen is free to read and share.
I run a weekly Tuesday afternoon (2-3pm UK time) guided creative writing session on live on Zoom for paid members. If you’d like to join, click the subscribe button and choose paid membership for £8 per month or £80 per year. If you are not able to subscribe (or don’t want to!), then please email me for alternative ways to join.
Dear all
I have been having some difficult conversations with myself lately. I feel as if I’m in a time of transition with my work and have said ‘no’ or ‘not yet’ or ‘I’ll think about it’ to a few things, rather than just jumped in.
In my 20 years as a freelancer and 10 years running creative writing workshops, I’ve done all sorts of jobs and projects connected with writing and I’m just not sure which ones I want to bring back into my life or whether to trust in something entirely new.
I’m not sure whether I dismissed something because it didn’t quite work out and I should give it another go or whether it was the wrong thing for me entirely. I have been seeking advice from different people (eg The Digital Culture Network) and getting in touch with others who may be potential partners for future work. I’ve lost beginner’s energy but definitely don’t feel at the end of the road or that my hard work is paying off quite in the way I want it to yet, especially financially!
I realised when carrying out a labyrinth exercise in my workshops this week and listening to responses from people that this is what life is like. Full of twists and turns and going back on ourselves at times, not quite sure how long it will take or where the end is, but trusting there is one path and we will get there eventually.
I wasn’t quite expecting this, but the exercise brought out some emotions and resistance for people as I took them through the stages. Then, I remembered that this was how I felt when I walked a labyrinth mown in grass last summer:
Supermoon, blue moon, full moon
Nr Ditchling, Sussex
I walk a labyrinth mown through grass and thistles. I pick up a white fluff feather in the round and round. Thistles burr the edge of my thoughts. I feel trapped in the middle path, I have no idea where I am or how long it will take. It feels like uncertainty though I know if I keep going, I will eventually get there and get out again. Lizards skittering on hot rocks in France come to mind. A pictorial memory link. The last time I felt nature, maybe. Only a few days ago, and yet.
Later, the moon full and round appears low in the sky. As I drive home the thin black clouds threaten to smother the moon, but first they frame it, then they drift away to be followed by white gauze, shielding the light with a shimmery haze. A veil. As if to say, the moon is too beautiful for your eyes. Do not try to make sense of it. I look away. I keep driving as a fox crosses the road, bushy tail down, stops at the verge for a moment, eyes glinting. As if to say, what are you doing here in the night in your loud smell of a car? You don’t belong.
So I am keeping notes of this time here on Substack and in my journal. I write as I go along, as I have conversations (with myself and others!) and I trust in the slowing down. I am thankful for the luxury I have right now not to make decisions straight away, to think, to take time, to just be. And of course, to enjoy delivering my existing workshops and to develop brand new exercises for them! One of which is below…
Writing invitation using a finger labyrinth
I used this 7-circuit labyrinth for my own writing and my workshops this week. Either find a labyrinth near you to walk, devise your own, or download a finger labyrinth to print and use. There are many ways you can work with a labyrinth, but this is the 7-step exercise I devised and used this week.
Have a single image, question or thought in mind as you begin. I offered a coloured ball of thread as an object for people who needed something more tangible to hold (connecting with the Greek myth) Trace the path of the labyrinth with your dominant hand (the one you usually use to write with. When you get to the middle, ask yourself what you want to bring back or what wisdom is there for you. As you find your way back out, notice what happens in your mind - any thoughts, images, or feelings that come up.
Freewrite for 10 minutes.
Repeat the exercise with your non-dominant hand.
Freewrite for 10 minutes. Notice anything different that happens.
Working with the number 7 as I chose a 7-circuit labyrinth, I invited people to pick out 7 lines or phrases, underline them, then write them on a fresh page (this can also be done with a printer and scissors!).
Number every single word in those 7 lines: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, then repeat the numbers until the last word.
Gather all the words labelled with 1 together, then the 2s and so on.
You will end up with 7 lines of jumbled words. Now the fun begins. Pick some words or phrases and freewrite from those or write a 7-line poem from the words that have ended up together.
For a final labyrinthian flourish, invert your 7-line poem. So for example, this is what I ended up with:
Lying quickly, we fade through flowers Picked on by dying buds Yesterday’s small shrivelling bursts Gusty green annually Blossom knocked day beauty It is a curling reminder otherwise The pink of only brave The pink of only brave It is a curling reminder otherwise Blossom knocked day beauty Gusty green annually Yesterday’s small shrivelling bursts Picked on by dying buds Lying quickly, we fade through flowers
This is not yet a poem, but I enjoyed playing with the words that I ended up with, so different from my freewriting to begin with. And I will come back to these phrases and use them to inspire future writing.
My inspiration
While I devised this particular exercise, it was inspired by other people as I am not the first person to write using a labyrinth!
Using a labyrinth in a workshop has been on my mind for a while, but this post by
gave me an extra nudge.The first time I heard about it as an idea was when I came across the work of Sonia Overall. She has installed public labyrinths for people to walk and write. She says:
Labyrinth walking lends itself to problem solving: a labyrinth is not a maze for getting lost in, but a single path that the walker must trust and follow. As the route is determined for you, all you need to do is walk and reflect. (P. 27 Walk, Write (Repeat) by Sonia Overall)
The Labyrinth Society and Labyrinthos.net are great places to start if you want to explore labyrinths further.
Creative Writing Workshops with me (Mel Parks)
Tuesday afternoons on Zoom (2-3pm UK time)
£8 per month or £80 per year with a paid Awen Substack subscription.
We started a new season this week, but you can join in anytime.
Break: 28 May & 4 June
Last session: 16 July.
12 sessions altogether. You can come to as many as you are able to.
If you are not able to subscribe (or don’t want to!), then please email me for alternative ways to join.
Monthly Tuesday evenings in East Grinstead (7-9pm)
Thursday mornings in East Grinstead (10-12noon)
Series of five weeks beginning on 13 June (13 June; 20 June; 27 June; 4 July; 11 July)
If you attend my face-to-face groups regularly, you can also attend the Zoom group for no extra charge.
I have an online space where I post exercises and other resources so you can catch up if you miss a session or you'd like to return to something after the workshop.
Until next time…
This newsletter was created by Mel Parks, a writer, researcher and workshop facilitator based in Sussex, UK. Mel runs writing workshops locally and on Zoom and researches creativity in midlife as well as her personal connection to nature. She has been widely published and is currently working on a series of moon and plant-inspired essays.
It is free to read and share, but if you value my work, please do stop by my virtual honesty box and leave a handful of loose change.