a-MAZE-ing

Decades ago Paul Simon wrote a song where he says "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all".  Whenever I come to Italy, those words follow me like a stray cat.  Years ago, when I fist arrived here in Lucca, my local guide Sergio, took me to see the local Cathedral of St. Martin.  It's a fabulous old Renaissance building.  Monumental in size and stunning in it's acid trip decorations, the place was a bit overwhelming.  Sergio took the time to try to explain what I was looking at but it was a syssiphian task.  Words poured in one side of my head and then spilled out the other side just as quickly.  About the only thing that truly stuck was that this was a really big church with lots of art all around the place.  Now... Where can I get a glass of wine?

     

          Cathedral of St Martin in Lucca dating from about 1200AD

I like to tell myself that I sort of remember seeing the white marble carving of a labyrinth located on the right portico of the cathedral next to the bell tower in this photo.  I seem to have at least that much mental stamina.  But that's the end of the line for me.  

Curiously, over the long, long New England descent into darkness (also known as Winter!) I stumbled onto a fabulous YouTube video by a young Canadian architect who took up the challenge of explaining the complex nuance of 2 words we use interchangeably.  One of the terms is "labyrinth" and the other was  "maze".  The technical difference seems to stem from the objective of these 2 things.  Her explanation was that a labyrinth was often a religious construct.  The purpose of a labyrinth was to create a space which allows the user to wander on a meandering path with only one entrance and one exit but which is designed to lead a person on a SUCCESSFUL journey... a confusing and twisting path which doesn't allow the wanderer to get lost.  The idea here was that the person who started on the path would always end up back where they started but only AFTER encountering lots of confusing turns.  Thus many mideaval religious sites offered monks (and pilgrims) an actual space which was designed to be a physical experience of the path we must walk as we go through our lives.  If one had enough " Faith" and trusted in God, you would be successful in reaching a good ending.

     

               The marble carving of the labyrinth at St Martin Cathedral

On the other hand a "maze" was constructed with purpose of causing confusion.  Many ancient cities, especially those which were prone to invasions by hostile enemies, were designed to be traps with no escape. They were designed to be lethal.  There were no religious lessons involved.  A maze had a  life and death use.  Often death WAS the objective.  

I often wonder how I managed to live on this planet for three quarters of a century without understanding some crucial distinctions.  How many other things do I think I understand but I really don't.  Do I really understand how to use a TV remote control?  Do I really know how to eat in a way that promotes good health?  Can I really fix a leaky faucet without flooding the basement?  Can I really appreciate a beautiful day?  Am I able to look at a work of art and understand it?

I want to say yes to these things.  But I have a deep, dark feeling that I probably have HUGE gaps in my understanding of the universe and I'm just wandering around as if in a labyrinth when I'm actually trapped in a maze.

A-MAZE-ing

That's my story and I'm stickin to it.