walk in beauty

When my Lakota (also known as Sioux) friends and I say goodbye, whether on the phone or in person, we say goodbye with the comment, “Walk in beauty.”

“Walk in beauty” means: “Beauty before me, beauty behind me, beauty by my side, beauty below me, beauty above me: I walk in beauty.”

Walking in Beauty is walking in: Joy, Bliss and Security. It permeates our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies.

In Inca shamanism, the South direction of the Medicine Wheel contains four practices. These are detachment, non-suffering, non-judgment, and beauty. Reflecting on this for a moment, you can understand that if we practice detachment, non-suffering, and non-judgment, we will come to a space where we can walk in beauty.

“Walking in Beauty” is more than a feeling or an emotion. It is a state of being that can best be described as grace. In this state of grace called beauty, we accept that everything is neither good nor bad, and we live in a universe that exists for us.

As we take a closer look at the other three practices of the South and honestly examine our lives, we realize that our attachments often lead to great unhappiness. There are many such attachments: to people, careers, money, romantic love, results, possessions, religious practices, keeping up with the neighbors – the list is endless.

All attachments, at some point, inevitably lead us to an awareness, which drives us to reject or not be able to accept what is. Non-acceptance eventually leads to pain and suffering, and we fall from grace and forget that we are surrounded by beauty. By practicing detachment, we remove the source of most of our suffering. In this life, pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. The key to practicing non-suffering is to stay in the moment, to stay in our “Beauty.”

To help you “Walk in Beauty”, ask yourself these questions.

o What beliefs do I need to reassess/change?

o Who in my past does this person/situation remind me of?

o What bothers me about this person?

o What does this person do that I don’t like about myself?

o What do I need to change to change my experience?

o What are their motivations?

o What are my reasons?

o What are my options?

While most of our suffering stems from regret, remorse, and guilt over the past or fear of possible future pain, judgment also plays a separate role. It’s amazing how much time and energy we spend judging. Not just judging others, but judging what is good and bad in our own lives and in the world around us from our limited perspectives. All of our judgments are based on comparisons made to past pain or pleasure.

Our sufferings and trials not only take us away from the grace of beauty, but also keep us locked in time. When we are locked in linear time, we cannot experience our divinity. One of the greatest joys of walking in beauty is the constant experience of our own divinity.

So as we part ways, my friend(s) and I remind each other to stay constantly connected to our own divinity.