Cindy Luo: Labyrinth Reflection

How does the labyrinth project help you further understand the literature we have read in the course this fall?

“When Siddhartha left the grove, where the Buddha, the perfected one, stayed behind, where Govinda stayed behind, then he felt that in this grove his past life also stayed behind and parted from him. He pondered about this sensation, which filled him completely, as he was slowly walking along. He pondered deeply, like diving into a deep water he let himself sink down to the ground of the sensation, down to the place where the causes lie, because to identify the causes, so it seemed to him, is the very essence of thinking, and by this alone sensations turn into realizations and are not lost, but become entities and start to emit like rays of light what is inside of them." (Hesse: Awakening)

Many of our books this fall has been about finding ourselves or finding a path to follow and I think the labyrinth symbolizes our growth as individuals and as a group. "Siddhartha" really reminds me of our labyrinth project because "Siddhartha" is all about finding his true purpose/true goal in life just like our project of creating a labyrinth. I think the quote above really fits well with our labyrinth project because when you walk the labyrinth/build the labyrinth, you’re supposed to leave everything behind and just focus on your walking and your breathing instead of thinking about everything that’s going on. Like Siddhartha who left all his teachers, friends, his past self behind before he achieved his goal and realized his true purpose. He let himself think on his own, made his own rules, and "start[ed] to emit like rays of light," just like we did with our labyrinth. Once Mrs. Hume left the planning and logistics to the class, we started to come together and work as one, contributing our thoughts and coming up with a plan to make our labyrinth. Instead of clinging onto what we thought was the "right answer from the teacher," we started to think of "how can we, as a group, fix this problem," which really put ourselves out-there, which can be difficult for many people. The labyrinth is supposed to be meditative as you walk through the narrow pathway toward the center, while we have not finished the labyrinth, the process has been creative, sometimes troublesome, fun, and relaxing, just like Siddhartha's process. Siddhartha's process definitely was a difficult one, therefore, making the project and Siddhartha's goal more alike. In addition, it definitely has helped our class grow and bond. By coming up with different solutions to different problems, we come together, through arguing, reasoning, talking, to create a plan to make this labyrinth. I think it’s very powerful because our grade is facing some tensions with college and I think this project helps us forget about our current problems and focus on the little issues to make our labyrinth perfect for us and for the rest of the school.

“They walked into the little clearing, the boy clutching his hand. They’d taken everything with them except whatever black thing was skewered over the coals. He was standing there checking the perimeter when the boy turned and burned his face against him. He looked quickly to see what had happened. What is it? He said. What is it? The boy shook his head. Oh Papa, he said. He turned and looked again. What the boy had seen was a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit. He bent and picked the boy up and started for the road with him, holding him close. I’m sorry, he whispered. I’m sorry” (McCarthy 198).

We couldn’t work on our labyrinth today because it rained and I think that that’s sort of a let down because our class had worked so hard to plan and we even got all the materials and we can’t even finish our masterpiece. However, the journey has definitely been fun and I think it’s really nice to focus, especially as we get closer to finishing this class, on something to help us become more peaceful. One text that I think really sums up the journey is “The Road,” because everything is in ruins, however, the boy and father use whatever they have to keep on living and push past the disparities. The quote above describing what happened after they tried to get materials, feels sort of similar to our labyrinth project, not because of the gory/dark nature, but because there can be so many unexpected “surprises” when we’re trying to reach a goal. We had everything we needed. We planned to do certain things for each day and we had our materials. We were ready to finish our labyrinth. However, for our class, it was the rain that was unexpected. We knew it would rain during the week but we did not know when/exactly what time it would rain. Unfortunately for us, on our second day working on the labyrinth, it was raining very hard so we could not finish our labyrinth. It did not scar us, like the burned infant on the skewer, but it did set us back, just like it set back the boy and his father’s mental health.

1. How did the labyrinth project help you approach or understand your personal pilgrimage in a new light?
2. What insights can you share about your own process, discovery, challenge, or success in connection to the symbol of the labyrinth?
3. What did you learn in the process?
4. What ideas in the course were most meaningful?
5. What will you take forward from here?
6. What quotations, images, or examples can you share to symbolize your greatest insights?

The labyrinth project really helped me look at self-confidence in a new light because when discussing how to build it, we didn’t know which process was the “best” so it was a really ideal way to push myself and spit out ideas that came into my head. I wouldn’t be ridiculed, instead we would all discuss the pros and cons and then pick one that seemed the most efficient. This project not only helped my intelligence, but also my creative mind.

The symbol of the labyrinth for me was overcoming all the difficulties, the changes, and the unpredictable results of your goal. Because my pilgrimage project was about self-confidence during class which is something that I’ve struggled with for a long time. I wouldn’t be able to just read one article, watch one video, participate once during class and then all of a sudden overcome my insecurity. There are definitely difficulties during my process, like my past memories holding me back, not being confident in the answer, being afraid of my peers and teacher of judging me, and knowing the “correct answer” but doubting myself so then I don’t participate but learn later on that I was right.

I learned that I have to forget my past memories and not care about what my peers think of me. Outside of class, everyone sees me as this super confident girl who’s a leader and a role model, but during class I become someone much different. I realized that I have to inject some of that confidence into my academics because, I remember reading on the wall of our English class that, “it’s better to be wrong than to be silent.” This quote really motivated me because we’re all here to learn, not be to “right” or the “best.”

The journey of every person was the most meaningful because again, self-confidence does not just suddenly “appear” after a day. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort.

I will keep the quote in mind every time I’m in class, I will look at my picture everyday before school to inject self-confidence at the start of the day, and I will take the tips that I have learned to really keep my self-confidence and to push forward instead of being ideal or taking steps backward.

“It is better to be wrong, than to be silent”