Three hundred ninety-eight stones planted on a grassy Rochester hillside.

Three hundred ninety-eight stones laid from outside to inside in a gentle arching path – a single path intended to provide a walker with a quiet, meditative journey. One sweeping movement – a unicursal path. And, even as it winds back and forth, that one-way is clear, never a maze of confusion.

I thrust the tip of my shovel between grass and concrete. Time and dirt, weight and roots resist my efforts. Another thrust, a little deeper, and the tempered steel blade coupled with the force of my muscle breaks the resistance and the stone moves. Another thrust with the shovel edge more deeply planted, the ground as fulcrum, and the concrete paver is free. I step to the next and repeat the process, breaking resistance another 58 times.

With gentle force we broke the earth’s resistance. We moved three hundred ninety-eight labyrinth stones from a grassy hillside. Now they rest on a different hillside while we wait for warm days to lay another circular path that will encourage quiet contemplation of resistance and resilience.

Photo credit: First UU Building Our Future-Beyond Ourselves, 2025