Walking a sacred path
There are many reasons to go to Audubon Park. You can exercise by walking, running, or biking the 1.8-mile trail, which takes you by a sculpture garden and Ochsner Island, a rookery that attracts hundreds of bird species. The path also encircles the Audubon golf course, originally built in 1898, then renovated in 2002. A huge rock sits in the middle of the 18th fairway. There are conflicting stories about the origins of the 15-ton, 8-foot-high boulder; some say it’s a meteor that struck the earth in 1891, while others maintain it’s merely an abandoned chunk of iron ore that was on display at the Alabama State exhibit in the Cotton Centennial in 1884.
The newest reason to go is a walking labyrinth, unveiled on Easter Sunday 2006. Its creator, stone sculptor Marty Kermeen, duplicated the specific measurements used in archetypal labyrinths all over the world. Labyrinths have an unknown origin but are recorded in many ancient civilizations. The most famous is in the floor of the Cathedral at Chartres, about an hour outside Paris. It was completed in A.D. 1220.
Info
Address Audubon Park, midway between the St. Charles and Magazine Streets side entrances, near East Drive, where Laurel Street dead ends into the park | Hours Daily 5am–10pm| Tip Audubon Park contains plenty of treasured spots, including the city’s zoo, home of 2000 animals, jokingly said to have a recipe card in front of each because Louisiana folk will eat anything and everything. The Fly is also a lovely area right on the Mississippi River, with baseball and soccer fields and plenty of space to lounge or picnic. The Cascade Stables has 40 privately owned and boarded horses, but also provides horseback lessons to visitors.
The labyrinth’s symbol of the spiral is the universal representation of transformation. Unlike mazes, labyrinths are not intended to challenge or confuse with blind alleys and dead ends; they offer just one path to the center. By traversing the twists and turns and making one’s way to the middle, the mind is opened to receive the spirit.
Over the last decade or so, the labyrinth as a meditation tool has had a resurgence. There are modern labyrinth societies. There’s even an annual World Labyrinth Day, on May 2. Grace Cathedral in San Francisco has a labyrinth on the chapel floor and another outdoors, plus they sell seed kits to make the same design and proportions anywhere.
The labyrinth in Audubon Park not only can open your mind, but also can help walk off all those beignets and bread puddings from your waistline.
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