Vox Populi
A curated webspace for Poetry, Politics, and Nature with over 20,000 daily subscribers and over 8,000 archived posts.
“Walking in Beauty”: 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
Hózhóogo naasháa doo Shitsijí’ hózhóogo naasháa doo Shikéédéé hózhóogo naasháa doo Shideigi hózhóogo naasháa doo T’áá altso shinaagóó hózhóogo naasháa doo Hózhó náhásdlíí’ Hózhó náhásdlíí’ Hózhó náhásdlíí’ Hózhó náhásdlíí’
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…
Ed. note: The Blessing Way Ceremony is traditionally celebrated by the Navajo to give courage and to protect people who are experiencing an important transition in their lives. It is usually held in the latter stage of pregnancy and is an opportunity to provide the expectant mother with support, resources and strength at this time of transition, opening the way for a healthy pregnancy, an empowering birth experience and a restful recovery.
Discover more from Vox Populi
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I know I have this copied somewhere, but will save again. Thank you.
LikeLike
Thank you, Michael for this. I feel such a need for love in the world, and for my love to be freed from grief, anger and frustration.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Me too, Mary. Me too.
>
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh yes
LikeLike
I’m blessed to teach on the Berkeley campus, where I walk in beauty whenever I’m there, especially thorough the redwoods. The Japanese have a term for it, Shinrin Yoku, forest bathing. Science has indeed proven it’s benefits.
LikeLiked by 3 people
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9665958/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Forest bathing. Eva and I are fortunate to live in a neighborhood of trees, surrounded by a forest in a city of forests…
LikeLiked by 4 people
I recall Pennsylvanian forests fondly, very similar to Connecticut’s, and actually prefer them. Not that I’m complaining, of course. Enjoy. Pity so many vainly seek for serenity elsewhere.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We should all learn this prayer. I’ll share it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, I think of it often,
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will type this, and keep it close, when I forget that beauty can be all around me and I forget to look. Like seeing the sky in a puddle in the asphalt like James Crews’ poem!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Oh, yes. I think James’s daily practice leans toward Buddhism, and Walking in Beauty is Native American. Not the same of course, but complementary.
>
LikeLiked by 3 people
A good way to start your day: walking in beauty. I plan to share the prayer with my daughter-in-law who is expecting a new son in a couple of weeks. I can do that on Tuesday, when she and I meet. She’s way ready for the birth blessing, btw.
LikeLiked by 4 people
One of my favorite prayers. Thanks for sharing it with your family. And congratulations!
>
LikeLiked by 5 people