Walk in Beauty
I have a friend who in all his correspondence with me concludes with the words “walk in beauty.” I’ve read enough Tony Hillerman novels to know that this is an important phrase in Navajo life. The words come from a Navajo ceremony called Beautyway. To walk in beauty means to walk in harmony with all living things, to live in harmony with God, with nature, with others and with self. There is a lovely Navajo prayer that includes these words: “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.” I find these words to be both powerful and instructive. I happen to believe that we are all challenged to walk in beauty. It is, however, easier said than done.
Why is living in harmony with all living things so difficult? Perhaps the Scriptures give us some clues. If you go back to the story of the Fall in Genesis 3 you see that the introduction of sin in Eden destroyed the harmony God intended for Creation. That sin was basically humanity’s decision to put the will of self before the will of God. In one word that sin was pride. That same pride displayed in the Garden of Eden continues to be manifested in each of our lives. We all have a tendency to put our will above that of God or that of others. That pride results in discord. Where pride raises its ugly head beauty and harmony are always found lacking.
Today many see nature as something to be used, not cherished and preserved. Sad to say, the same thing can be said for our relationships with others. Far worse, the same thing can be said for our relationship with our Creator.
I am convinced that until we find harmony with God we will not find harmony with self, others, or nature. There must be peace in the center before there can be peace beyond. Unfortunately, a lot of people leave God out of the equation. To walk in beauty surely we should start with our Maker.
In Psalm 27:4 David says “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord…” When we focus on the beauty of the Lord everything else falls into place. We begin to see the true beauty in ourselves. We begin to see the true beauty in others. We begin to see the true beauty in nature. This vision is what enables us to “walk in beauty” and to live our lives in peace and harmony.
I realize that I may not be doing justice to the Navajo concept of walking in beauty but this is how I understand the concept. It is my prayer that I and everyone else may come to walk in beauty. If we did, what a wonderful world it would be.
–Chuck
I took the images shown above on a trip earlier this week to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway.