Life after Spinal Cord Injury
Link Upton 03.06.07
All Under Construction

What is the Man in the Maze all about?  Why use it on future-link?  How does it relate to SCI?

There's no one meaning to the Man in the Maze just as there is no one meaning to the phrase 'The future is not what it used to be'. A common interpretation for the man in the maze is that the maze represents the usually difficult journey toward finding a deeper meaning in life. This 'maze' is actually a labyrinth; it has no branches or dead end paths as a maze does. I prefer to use the word maze over labyrinth. -Link Upton (see below about Link)

The story of I'itoi, the man at the top of the maze could easily be the story of every human being, travelling through life as though through a maze. We enter the maze at birth, the entrance to life, entranced. We  follow  the maze encountering many twists, turns and changes, just as in life. As the journey continues, one finds pain and suffering, joy and pleasure, all the while acquiring knowledge, strength, and understanding. Nearing the end of the maze, one retreats to a small corner of the pattern before reaching the dark center; death. This is a place of reprieve, one last opportunity to look back on ones life and use the wisdom we have gained to cleanse the mind of negative energy. It is here where he or she forgives, asks forgiveness, and resolves all unfinished business of the heart. Finally, pure and in harmony with the world, one can find acceptance of the last step. The step into the white center; death, and perhaps eternal life?

At one level, the labyrinth symbolizes the female womb, only penetrable if one is pure and perfect. The male figure outside, representing the human seed, can penetrate the womb, fertilize the ovum, produce new life, which then emerges as a new birth or a reincarnated existence. (above paragraph in italics by unknown writer)

The man in the maze has been adopted by many cultures around the world because it is significant of life's cycles and eternal motion and also of the choices we are confronted with. The right choices lead us to a point of harmony with all things, no matter how hard or long the road taken. When an individual becomes physically paralyzed either by an accident or disease, the future is no longer what it used to be. Life with spinal cord injury becomes a new and entirely different path to travel on. Perhaps this is the place where we can reflect on our past life as walkers, resolve past issues, and accept this abrupt and bizarre twist to our life before we are able to continue the journey in a wheelchair.

There are many variations of traditional labyrinth patterns. A labyrinth can represent the path of life that we walk, or roll; it is long and difficult, with many twists and turns that we cannot see beyond until we reach them. Labyrinths have recently become popular in western cultures and following a labyrinth’s path has come to be widely used as a contemplative practice. (Paragraph in italics from unknown source)

And It Is Still That Way: Legends told by Arizona Indian Children
by Christine Manuel (edited by Byrd Baylor)

In ancient times, Se-eh-ha, who is also Elder Brother or I'itoi, needed a safe place to live. He still had a lot of work to do getting the world ready for the Pima and Papago people but he could not do his work because his enemies were always following him.

Even when he went to live in a cave, his enemies followed him. They did not want him to be able to help his people.

Finally he decided to build a home underground in the center of a mountain. At the edge of the mountain anyone could see the opening that led into his house but getting there wasn't as easy as it looked.

Anyone who wanted to find Seeh-ha had to follow many narrow winding paths that went around and around. His enemies did not know which path to take. If they chose the wrong one they got lost and ran out of air and died down there in the darkness.

While his enemies were searching for him, going around and around in all directions, Seeh-ha was sitting safely in his cave. The only trouble was that he wanted his friends to be able to come to him without getting lost. He made a map for them, and anyone who followed that map could make his way in without getting lost.

Even now the Pima and Papago Indians use that map. The women make a design of it and weave it into baskets so we never forget how to find the right path through life. It can lead you to a safe place.  

The maze works well with the path-of-life interpretation as it has no shortcuts, no dead ends, and the entire path must be followed in order to complete the journey.

(new stuff here)

Interesting, but why use it on future-link & how does it relate to SCI? 

It would seem that the link to the future is in this very instant, this very moment; that second that just went by! This is the moment to be who you want to be to do what you want to do this is the moment to create your future this is your link to your future; this instant! 

Oh, okay; & SCI? 

Well, the instant my mind knew that I was paralyzed from waist down I knew that my life was going to be different; in a split second my life took off in an unknown direction. The future was altered, it was no longer going to be what it would have been if I did not take that 40 foot fall. You just don't know what's in store as you walk 'n' roll through life -- just like the maze; one gets lost one gets found. One looses ones self one finds ones self, over & over again, just like a maze. 

I am reminded of a poem I wrote years ago about getting lost and getting found, one of my favorite things to do.

Getting lost before the journey begins
is an act worthy of a true monk
quickly quickly gather notes
ah, this dance is the most gracious

Getting lost and recovering quickly
is a dance routine with the wheelchair
even when the directions are lost
the way is found by the quickest of fools

Getting lost getting found
all in the same breath
all in the same touch of the heart
experience is a generous teacher. -Link U.

Coming Soon, a little at a time in draft form;
Water to Air, a story of six people moving through life... Link Upton
All Under Construction

...An American Indian elder appeared to me on several different occasions in the past... each time giving me small pieces of knowing... things way beyond my usual awareness, leading me to many Peyote Sweat Lodges; years of practicing yoga, dropping out, dropping in, confusion, clarity, depression... then... over the subsequent years... into the maze... 

About Link: Link Upton was born Lincoln Upton in San Francisco in 1955 & never did like his name. At age 16 he changed it to Link. For most of his life he has spoken & written about himself in the third person. After this paragraph he promises to speak in the first person & on the page he will be adding soon discussing his past & his lighthearted heavy relationship with life in the chair. Here is a peek at the page he is working on, this is the 4th draft & is close to being finished! -Link Upton (If you got this far you may as well check LINK out) not linked yet

Temporary email: garyis@charter.net