I Walk in Beauty

Fools Crow

You may have heard that when I was young, playing Cowboys and Indians, I always wanted to be the “Indian.” From early on I had an affinity for all things Native. I ran through the woods pretending to track animals or enemies with my bow and arrow – a stick found in the woods. As I got older, I read all I could get my hands on about Native American culture and beliefs.

At some point later in life, my mother told me that her grandmother was half Cherokee. The family referred to her as “the Indian.” My mother showed me a picture of her in what appeared to be a traditional animal-hide dress. This fueled my love and yearning to know more about what I now thought of as my ancestors. 

As a young adult, I heard from a psychic that I was my own Great-grandfather who walked the Trail of Tears – the forced removal of tens of thousands of indigenous people from their homes. 

I was hooked. I read books by Sandra Ingerman and took classes in Soul Retrieval and eventually I taught classes. I absorbed Lyn Andrews’ books and studied books about Fools Crow. I read The Way of the Shaman, by Michael Harner, a landmark book of the 1980’s exploring shamanism. It still sits on my shelf, today. I went to sweat lodges and studied for a while with a shaman. 

But why? What is it about Native American culture that burns inside me. 

Many Native American traditions are rooted in a connection with Earth Mother and an understanding that all things are sacred.  Fools Crow, the Ceremonial Chief of the Teton Sioux, spoke of Wakan-Tankan, or Great Spirit as alive in everything. This relates to the Lakota phrase “Mitákuye Oyás'iŋ,” meaning all my relations. 

We are not separate from the world around us, but part of a great mystery and web of life, interconnected like threads in a beautiful tapestry. 

To honor that interconnection, some indigenous people say prayers before a hunt asking the spirit of an animal to give its life to sustain the people. After a successful hunt, a prayer of thanks is said, honoring the life that was given. We are in relation to all things and all things have life and spirit. it is our sacred responsibility to treat everything in the world round us with dignity and respect. For to disrespect them is to disrespect ourselves and the Creator.

I spoke with a friend recently who had been walking with her partner in a wooded area. A couple of deer appeared on the trail ahead of them. Because they understand the sacredness of all life, they felt compelled to ask the deer for permission to continue their journey. I love that.

In every environment, there is a “spirit of the place” that deserves acknowledgement and respect. You can think of it as an energy that emanates from the space. Or spiritual beings that surround and protect it. You can think of it as a life force that permeates every cell of that space. Or as God energy radiating in and through all that is. 

And to me, each of these perspectives would be right for there is only One Power, one Life Force that animates everything that exists. As such, there is no separation between human life and the Earth, human life and animal life, human life and spiritual beings. 

With this understanding, I try to walk through life with reverence for the world – rocks, trees, animals and even bugs (as hard as that one is sometimes).

Wherever I am I try to express love and compassion, the spirit of aloha, and namaste, and sacred presence. It takes practice and conscious awareness. But try it and see if you notice a shift in the energy around you. 

I invite you to give life to the words of this song: 

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 all around me. 

May my words be beautiful, always.

Ah Ho!