What’s the difference between a maze and a labyrinth?
(Besides the fact that “maze” is MUCH easier to spell, and that “labyrinth” is worth more points in Scrabble?)
Most people use the words interchangeably, but there’s actually quite a difference.
A maze has multiple paths and dead ends.
A labyrinth has only one path that leads to the center and back out again.
In other words, the key difference between a maze and a labyrinth is choice: a maze branches, forcing you to decide which way to go.
A labyrinth follows a single continuous path. You may not know where the next turn leads, but you can’t choose the wrong one.
You can get lost in a maze.
In a labyrinth, no matter how twisty and confusing the journey seems, you are always going the “right” direction.
Many of us see life as a maze: a confusing puzzle we need to figure out.
What if we trust that life is actually a labyrinth?
That there’s no such thing as a wrong turn?
What if we believe that we’re always on our path, going exactly where we need to go, and our only job is to put one foot in front of the other with a sense of patience and wonder?
I can’t prove that this point of view is “true,” of course.
So I’m not trying to convince you.
But I do want you to know that it’s been a powerful and pleasurable mindset shift.
Deciding that life is a labyrinth helps me relax when my path isn’t taking me where I think it should.
As a wise person once told me, The Way Knows the Way.
Next time you catch yourself worrying that you’ve taken a wrong turn, try asking: What if this is part of the path, too?
Not lost even if it seems like it,
Rachel
PS – If you’re in a part of your life that feels more like a maze than a labyrinth—thinking in circles, second-guessing your choices, trying to figure out the “right” path—this is exactly the kind of territory we can explore in coaching. Book a free consulation now.
