May You Always Walk in Beauty

 “May you always walk in beauty.” ~ Black Elk

I love this quote from the Oglala Lakota leader Black Elk. It's such a simple yet profound statement.

Who among us wouldn't enjoy walking in beauty? There are, of course, various kinds of beauty. There is the beauty of the natural world, something I enjoy experiencing and photographing.
There is personal physical beauty, something possessed by only a small fraction of humans. And there is the beauty that comes from within.

To which kind of beauty was Black Elk referring? I don't know, but I like to think it was both the beauty of the natural world and internal beauty. Some people simply are beautiful people in how they treat others, in their kindness and generosity. Such a person can be said to have a beautiful heart.

The Dine (Navajo) people believe that to walk in beauty is to be in harmony with all things -- people, animals, nature, life. They have a beautiful prayer that reflects this belief.

This prayer is the closing prayer from the Navajo Blessing Way ceremony.

In beauty I walk

With beauty before me I walk
With beauty behind me I walk
With beauty above me I walk
With beauty around me I walk
It has become beauty again

Today I will walk out, today everything negative will leave me
I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body.
I will have a light body, I will be happy forever, nothing will hinder me.
I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me.
I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.
I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful.

In beauty all day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons, may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With dew about my feet, may I walk.
With beauty before me may I walk.
With beauty behind me may I walk.
With beauty below me may I walk.
With beauty above me may I walk.
With beauty all around me may I walk.

In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
My words will be beautiful.

It's often not easy these days to live in harmony, to find the beauty in our world. I am fortunate to live in a place where I can see nature's beauty nearly every day. I live in the high desert, where the landscape tends to be brown and dry, but oh, what sunrises we get, particularly in the winter when there are clouds hovering around the mountain range.

Wherever you live and whatever life you lead, I hope that you will walk in beauty.