
Today I’ve been designing a labyrinth. (I’m talking now about a spiral path that you can walk along as a contemplative exercise – but if you’re interested in the Melbourne Labyrinth experience, we are running a City Hack in Melbourne soon.)
One of the things about walking a labyrinth with other people is that it requires discipline, carefulness, sharing and negotiation. Often when you are on the way in you will come face to face with someone else on their way out, and you need to work out (probably silently) how you will negotiate the passing. Once you’vew reached the centre and started journeying back out, the odds are you’ll come face to face with another fellow sojourner, travelling inwards – the same direction you were headed just a moment agao.
I think this kind of experience might have something to teach us for when we are trying to coexist with folks who are headed in directions different to ours. It might be helpful to keep in mind that however much we disagree, it could be that we were once headed in the direction that they are currently pursuing. It might be helpful to keep in mind that we may change our own directions in future.