Going around in circles usually is associated with a frustrating and fruitless waste of time. But for those who've learned the secrets of a labyrinth, exactly the opposite is true. Labyrinths and their restorative potential often are spotlighted during the holiday season, when walkers seek them out to help find resolution to old problems and inspiration for the new year. Unlike mazes, which are designed to challenge users with barriers to movement, labyrinths are created to provide a walker with a path so simple that the mind is free to relax and, sometimes, find new and creative solutions to life's challenges. ContraCostaTimes.com interviewed OpEdNews Managing Editor Meryl Ann Butler for this article.