“Mysterious thing, Time. Powerful, and when meddled with, dangerous.” Dumbledore

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

My granddaughter gave me a keychain replica of Hermione’s Time Turner for my seventieth birthday. Of course, as any fan of Harry Potter could tell you all the actual Time Turners…including Hermione’s…were destroyed during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Nevertheless, a Time Turner and the mere possibility of controlling time seemed to be the perfect gift for someone entering their eighth decade.

I do love the idea of being able to turn back time. Think of the possibilities! Perhaps I could return and savor those really precious, every day, moments that I had taken for granted at the time. Maybe I’d avoid the hurts I’d caused myself and especially those careless mistakes that cause pain to others. I’d have the chance to study harder, listen more deeply, hug more often, take more risks, and be willing to wait more patiently. However, Dumbledore is right. When meddled with time can be a dangerous thing. It’s impossible to change our actions in the past without affecting the present. It makes me wonder, what part of my present would I be willing to risk for the past?

For a long time, I thought of time as a linear progression; a perpetual “and then” story. Lately, I’ve come to think about time as a labyrinth. We move forward and then circle back. We can see where we’ve been even though we’re not absolutely certain where we’re going. We just keep moving forward hoping to spend some time in the quiet center.

I think this blog with be much like a labyrinth. My steps will inevitably take me on paths into the future, but my inner time turner will also encourage me to loop back and spend some time in the past as well. The nature of a labyrinth means I can also greet those who retrace my steps and take courage and inspiration from those who trod the way ahead of me. I’ll share some of their lessons too.

Perhaps you’ll travel with me for a while. That would be great. Every journey is better when shared with a friend, but I know too that you have your own labyrinth to walk. Let’s at least wave as we pass and may we always walk in peace, hope, and love.

.