The day could not have been better with dappled sunlight filtering through the trees of the churchyard and a light breeze. Early afternoon sun, but in the autumnal days it had lost the harshness of summer.
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Reverend Karen Paull is waiting in the church grounds of All Saints Anglican Church Bodalla, for people to arrive. Five gather at 3pm on a Tuesday - no doubt all feeling slightly guilty about where else they should be or what else they could be doing.
Rev Karen welcomes the participants and introductions are made. Looking for the labyrinth, expecting to see imposing hedges, it comes into view just to the right of where she is standing.
A very unimposing, circular path bordered by grasses, slightly overgrown and in a little disrepair, leading to a centre. Blink and you could miss it.
![A beautiful setting for a beautiful practice. Cat Wilson walks the labyrinth. Photo Vic Silk A beautiful setting for a beautiful practice. Cat Wilson walks the labyrinth. Photo Vic Silk](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/232432949/8174f172-4eb4-4f1c-9f67-3c85abc09300.jpg/r0_134_6720_3927_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
And so Rev Karen begins. Today she will lead the group through the labyrinth twice. Each walk will be slightly different and should take about 10 minutes. This seems a surprisingly long time for such a little path.
"Leave whatever is on your mind, whatever you are distracted by, leave it aside as you enter the labyrinth," she coaxes.
"It is not a maze, with false paths designed to confuse you. A labyrinth is a path you simply follow to the centre."
One by one, individuals step up to the edge and begin. Leaving a gap of a few minutes between one and other, slowly they begin to walk.
![A lovely little labyrinth in need of some care and restoration. Photo Vic Silk. A lovely little labyrinth in need of some care and restoration. Photo Vic Silk.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/232432949/3296ddfc-52d9-4e19-9a0f-7d97e4f60345.jpg/r0_343_6720_4136_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Occasionally someone will pause, and the person behind them will pause also, keeping their gap and respecting the pause. Around they go - a single path that weaves and doubles back, so sometimes the group is scattered across the breadth and length of the labyrinth, other times almost touching shoulders.
The path seems extraordinary in its simplicity. The harmony of the group is somehow palpable. It has taken at least 10 minutes to find the centre and return.
Rev Karen gathers the participants again under the tree to reflect on the first walk.
![Walkers can be in one moment together and the next apart. Photo Vic Silk Walkers can be in one moment together and the next apart. Photo Vic Silk](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/232432949/5dedf336-95f5-4df1-ac6a-3f7dfc6d1ffb.jpg/r0_343_6720_4136_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
For the second walk, each person will choose an object from Rev Karen's stash. It may be a feather, a pebble, a cross made of charred driftwood from the Black Summer fires.
The object is to accompany the walker, a focus for the mind and whatever problems may be occupying space.
"Carry it with you to the centre, place it down and leave it there," she instructs.
A simple act - symbolic of letting go of distraction, worries, bad habits or unhelpful thoughts.
The whole event has taken the full hour Rev Karen asks the participant to put aside. The atmosphere among the group is one of acceptance and gentle humour. A well-earned pause has been taken in otherwise busy lives.
To join the Bodalla Labyrinth walk, contact Reverend Karen Paull on 0400 299 751. The walk will take place on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 3-4pm.
To assist with care, restoration and maintenance of the labyrinth, email Cat Wilson nottheonlycatwilson@gmail.com.