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On a path to serenity
By Sean Barron
CANFIELD
Sisters Sabrina and India Gatts are nervous about studying for and taking a series of state-mandated tests for school, but a casual, purposeful outdoor walk helped them decrease their stress and refocus on positive thoughts.
“I’m going through everything hard. I have a lot on my mind, and it kind of calms me down,” said India, 12, an Austintown Middle School seventh-grader.
India was referring to the renewed peace and tranquillity she felt after having participated in Sunday afternoon’s guided walk through the Ursuline Center Labyrinth at the Ursuline Center, 4280 Shields Road.
India and 9-year-old sister, Sabrina, an Austintown Intermediate School fourth-grader, were among about a dozen children and adults who took part in the silent 20-minute walk along the winding paths. The free event kicked off this year’s guided-walk season.
Labyrinths are ancient tools many people use for prayer, meditation and other spiritual purposes to more-closely focus on and examine where they are in their lives. A typical labyrinth consists of a winding path that starts at the periphery and meanders to a central space, then out by the same path.
The Ursuline Labyrinth is patterned after the Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth, an 11-circuit design divided into four quadrants that was built about 1200 in Paris.
“Now I’m like, ‘I will do good on the test. Don’t stress a lot,’” Sabrina said, adding that she felt calmer afterward and will approach studying in such a manner.
The experience also helped Lindy Kubic of Boardman lessen her stress regarding certain barriers in her life and deepen her appreciation for the sounds of birds singing and other common, soothing sights and sounds that many people take for granted or overlook.
“I was living in the moment and enjoying the benefits of a beautiful spring day,” said Kubic, a lab technician at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. “I offer praise and thanks for the blessings of life. I let go of the burdens on my mind and was walking out with peace.”
Kubic deliberately moved slowly around the labyrinth’s sharp turns. She added that slowing down can be highly beneficial in handling life’s fast pace and unexpected turns.
Before their walk, participants heard a brief presentation called “Spirituality of Labyrinths” from Michele Gatts, the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown’s media, public-relations and development coordinator, who explained that a labyrinth “is a metaphor for life’s journey” and, contrary to many people’s assumptions, is not a maze.
“There are many different reasons people come to labyrinths, many reasons to walk,” such as seeking solace and repentance, said Gatts, who also is India and Sabrina’s mother. “Do what you are led to do; there’s no right or wrong way.”
Guidelines for embarking on such a journey include walking with a sense of purpose, focusing on a situation at hand and choosing how to express oneself, she continued.
Gatts noted that the labyrinth is open from dawn to dusk and to those of all faiths.
Sunday’s kickoff gathering also was in line with the mantra of “Counseling the Doubtful: Listening for God’s Revelation,” one of the seven spiritual works of mercy. The concept is based on John 14:27, which talks about a level of peace only God can bestow upon others.
In addition, the seven themes are to celebrate the Year of Mercy that Pope Francis declared and designated, noted Eileen Novotny, the Ursuline Sisters’ director of program development.
In it, the pope urges people to work toward feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and giving drink to the thirsty, Novotny continued.
The notion of Counseling the Doubtful also is built on the idea of using God’s mercy, care and love as tools to give hope to others, Novotny explained, adding that she hoped the walkers would concentrate on that principle.
She added that the labyrinth is “sacred ground and an important part of the Sisters’ ministry.”