Following the way of the labyrinth

Early this morning, I made these labyrinth medallions into earrings. I bought them in Chartres, France at a shop called La Crypte for 3.5 euros each, rather than the 39 euros I could have paid for a pair of earrings. 

This photograph shows my earrings dangling from bricks in the Earth Oven that my husband John is building in front of our cabin.

The Chartres labyrinth is one of the sites I visited in France that I found most moving.It was built into the floor of the nave. Pilgrims who had already walked hundreds of miles journeyed through it, praying as they wound their way. I photographed my labyrinth earrings again on top of this card of the labyrinth that we bought in Chartres.

I finished making my earrings in time to leave for yoga class. This labyrinth reminds me of some that I'd seen as Buddhist symbols. How far we have come in our culture from a time when people chose to move slowly through a maze, meditating on their progress toward a perfect central belief.

When I returned home from yoga, John was finishing the arched doorway of the Earth Oven. Ancient practices, enlightenment, patience.

We're looking forward to sharing a loaf of our own artisan bread, fresh from the oven.