Our trip last week to Sinsinawa Mound Center, Sinsinawa, WI, was an
after thought. We had taken a day
trip to Dubuque, IA and we weren’t ready for our travels to end. We were close to Sinsinawa so we decided
to take the short detour.
We entered a hilly countryside, which alternated woodsy glens with slopes finely dressed in neat fields of corn and wheat. We searched for the Sinsinawa Mound Center tucked away in this lush area of Southwestern Wisconsin. Eight years ago, soon after Evan was born, a friend had sent us a prayer remembrance from the Sinsinawa Sisters. For eight years I had wondered about the center and I had hoped to visit it one day. I wanted to see the sacred place that had held Evan in their prayers.
We entered a hilly countryside, which alternated woodsy glens with slopes finely dressed in neat fields of corn and wheat. We searched for the Sinsinawa Mound Center tucked away in this lush area of Southwestern Wisconsin. Eight years ago, soon after Evan was born, a friend had sent us a prayer remembrance from the Sinsinawa Sisters. For eight years I had wondered about the center and I had hoped to visit it one day. I wanted to see the sacred place that had held Evan in their prayers.
The grounds and main center building are open to the public
during visiting hours. We entered
the main building willing to receive whatever awaited us inside. Silently we
moved into the still, brightly shining chapel. A calm, yet almost buzzing energy, surrounded us. Tentatively we each found our own place
to sit and pray. Evan sat next to
each of us, one at a time, moving quietly from pew to pew.
We moved on to tour other chapels, museums, and art
displays. In each new space we
felt a powerful sense of calm centeredness and awareness that was truly unique.
As we left the main building, Evan picked up a purple
pamphlet (probably because he
knows purple is my favorite color) and waved it at us. We gathered around as he showed his
treasure describing something called the LABYRINTH. The LABYRINTH
is one of the inspiration tools that can be found at Sinsinawa Mound
Center. Fortunately for us Evan
discovered it. We read the
pamphlet together:
“In walking the
Labyrinth, it is possible to discern three basic stages of the walk:
Shedding – letting go,
releasing cares and concerns which distract us from our Source.
Illumination – receiving
insight in the center, we ask for clarity about our lives and holy energy for
the journey.
Union – journeying out
from the center, we take the energy; the gift we found – empowered to act.
It is a spiritual tool
and an effective metaphor for life’s journey for believers in all traditions. Any person who chooses with intention
to walk the path is welcome to do so.”
We eagerly set out to find the LABYRINTH. We expected
to see an enormous hedge lined maze filled with intrigue. We found instead an open maze, formed simply
with bricks.
The LABYRINTH
intrigued each of us. It beckoned
us to walk forward and discover something inside of ourselves that we hadn’t
discovered before.
Evan of course brought his own spark to the journey. He quickly discovered that he could
skip over to different lanes, sometimes leading and sometime following. As is his nature, he found a way to
have more of an interactive experience than a solitary one, even in the silence
we had agreed to maintain.
2 comments:
What a beautiful description of our day. As Evan's uncle, spending a day with Evan as i did at Sinsinawa is a very precious gift. One learns so much from Evan. Evan is extremely interactive and wants nothing more than to know people and to enjoy each others presence. Never intrusive but always right there to engage, I am struck with his deep knowing of people beyond the conventional ways. He is alert and cognizant of others that is quite wondrous and puts everyone at ease. I will always remember this special day.
Thank you for your comment Peter! I will always remember this special day too.
Post a Comment