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The flexibility of the bow, the grace of the arrow, the patience of the archer… The Lakota Sioux suggest developing these qualities to make our life worth living. What is their wisdom and philosophy of life?
As a child, writer and historian Joseph Marshall III listened to legends told by his Lakota grandparents. “They are our gift to the world. These are not secrets, but landmarks on the path of life – answers to questions that rise above the spacious plains of our life, so that the wind of wisdom will bring them to our aid.
His book, The Lakota Path of Strength and Courage, introduces readers to American Indian traditions through their stories and personal experiences. For us, the author has chosen five lessons that he considers the most important of all that he knows.
Lesson 1: find the balance
For the Lakota Indians, life is primarily a series of transformations. “Some are slow, like the transformation of a young tree trunk into a bow. Others are quick, like the metamorphosis of a branch that my grandfather cut, stripped of its bark, and tempered over a fire.”
It is important to be aware of these transformations so as not to feel like a passive object, recalls Joseph Marshall III. “Like bow makers who practice their craft with respect, tenderness, care to make the very best bow.”
Practice
It’s about facilitating positive transformation. Once a week, take the time to replay the previous days like a movie: visualize the moments, feel the emotions associated with them.
Then try to identify what in your relationships, your tasks, in your work brings you pleasure and a sense of balance, and what annoys, worries, alarms or tires.
After that, think about what threatens your positive feelings and how you can find a new balance that satisfies you. Then, what can ease your negative feelings.
Plan a series of specific actions and do them every day with patience and perseverance.
Lesson 2: Avoid excesses
“Every aspect of the creation of the bow and arrow has been reduced to the simplest form possible. Keeping it simple was more than a philosophy. It had a practical application. My grandparents chose a simple lifestyle to make the best use of the resources available,” writes Joseph Marshall III.
Their life was far from always easy, but the solution they chose to achieve their goal was always the easiest, least expensive, and took into account natural balance and harmony.
Slowing down, finding calm areas in ourselves or in the open air, understanding the difference between “enough” and “too much” are ways that will allow us to appreciate the taste of life and not waste energy. Both our own and the environment.
Practice
Realize that everything is energy: thoughts, words, money, objects… We are living beings in a finite world and do not have unlimited energy capital. Everything we produce and consume has a price.
The better we manage energy – physical, mental and spiritual – the better we live. Therefore, simplicity should become our compass, which shows us how to communicate (authenticity, decency) or consume (responsibility, sobriety).
Practice every day to evaluate your actions, words, purchases and decisions as “accurate” or “excessive”
Trust your inner voice – it knows better than your mind what it is that maintains simplicity. Identify those instances of “redundancy” that gave you pleasure or a sense of well-being, and consider how to get the same effect without excess.
Lesson 3: Discover Your Talent
“There are few things that, like a bow and arrow, symbolize both purpose and function. Together, they will fulfill their common task – to achieve the goal, ”says the author. He clarifies that even if we don’t seem to have specific goals, we can find them or help them find us, let them grow within us.
In the Lakota view, all people should be focused on helping others before thinking about themselves. “Caring for other people and giving is the best thing we can do.” Each in his own way and with his own means.
“It is important to feel that we have decided to do this of our own free will and for our own sake, and not doing something out of duty or out of a sense of duty.”
Practice
It is impossible to make a contribution, even a small one, to the well-being of the world if we do not know what contribution we can handle, what contribution we can handle.
Like an archer, a bow and an arrow merge into one, we must be able to choose the form of gift that suits us best and comes from the depths of our being. Some have a talent for listening, others for advising, and still others for bringing joy or beauty.
Often other people, your loved ones, know better than you what altruistic talent you have. They point it out when they thank you for making them laugh, calming their worries, sorting out a difficult situation, or listening to them kindly. This quality is worth cultivating in yourself and generously sharing it at every opportunity.
Lesson 4: Find your inner strength
“Be like the bow from the young tree that my grandfather dried over the fire. The heat tempered the wood. Without this, the rod would never have become a bow. Any artisan who makes bows knows that heat is the best catalyst.”
We often feel as if our problems have no solution, “and we forget that they give us the opportunity to gain emotional and psychological strength.”
It doesn’t matter if we manage to get through the test – we are strong if we do not move away from the problem and show resilience. When we meet an obstacle face to face, those resources that were dormant in “peacetime” are revealed in us.
Practice
Let the trials that you had to face in life pop up in your memory. Do not think about their success or failure, direct your attention to the resources that you had to use.
What have you learned about yourself? Were you disappointed or pleasantly surprised? What have you done with the experience? In light of what you have learned about yourself and your life, how would you meet these challenges today?
Once you’ve completed this work, take time to honor your inner strength.
Congratulate yourself, light a candle, give yourself a gift… And don’t forget that real strength lies in putting in the effort to the best of your ability without deceiving yourself.
Lesson 5: Continue on your way
“An incredible property that the primitive bow of the Lakota tribe has is its elasticity. There are three reasons for this: the wood that the master chose, the simple and convenient design of the bow, and the skills of its creator.”
The tree relates to the qualities that are inherent in a person, the design – to the goals of his actions and his choices, and the skills – to how exactly he chooses and acts.
To stand the test, Joseph Marshall III advises to rely on “those qualities and sides of our character that are naturally as strong as the source of our difficulties.”
If we think we don’t have the resources needed to overcome an obstacle, we can draw on our surroundings and be inspired by how others before us have risen again and continued on their way.
Practice
Fortunately, in today’s world there is such a resource as psychotherapy, which helps to recover from trials, heal our wounds and relieve pain. But if the blow is not too strong and we feel that we need only a friendly hand to rise, we can try to extend a helping hand to ourselves.
Why not try to give yourself the care and advice you would give a good person? And if you can’t get up on your own, why not ask for help from loved ones who can, replacing each other, provide you with help and support to speed up your recovery?