Hózhó

A setting sun illuminates the layers of time, a bend in a river, directional yet balanced - beautiful.

Beauty is often depicted as some superficial value. Or perhaps it only feels like this is usually true because of the values of the colonial empires that dominate our perception. People arrive at vistas to admire beauty, giving only a brief moment in awe. In the modern world, they capture the moment in several photos, sometimes including themselves in vanity for the beauty they experience.

For the Diné people, the Navajo is a single word that carries the weight of a different perception of beauty - Hózhó. The word Hózhó represents balance and beauty. Hózhó centers on spirituality, respect, and balance. The idea is that beauty means living in harmony with relationships. Relationships with other people, with the world around us, and with our spirituality. It can almost be summarized as 'walking in beauty.' Walking is an action with directionality, but it also requires balance. So, in a sense, when balance is lost, walking is lost, and so is Hózhó. In this value system, the Navajo belief suggests that when Hózhó is disturbed, something big needs to be done to come back to balance.

Vishnu Schist and Zoroaster granite tower above a sandy beach deep in the Grand Canyon.

The walk of life is complex. I know little about Navajo beliefs and traditions, but I feel inspired by the Diné. Hózhó leads to a deeper view of beauty. The harmony of a moment is the resting Hózhó in between great disturbances. Imagine the violence of a Volcanic Island Arc, like Hawaii, colliding with a nearby coastal mountain range on the North American Continent; imagine the intrusion of molten granite in all the open cracks. Beauty strikes us, and to understand harmony, we must appreciate the moments that are disharmonious.

The last year or so has been particularly disharmonious. My partner and I have moved to a new town, both started new jobs, and endured a variety of challenges beyond what would be expected with such big transitions. In some ways, it's been a big wobble when the world has already felt chaotic. Extended the timeline back further: more new jobs, more moves. Four or more jobs, four cities, four years. On the tailcoats of COVID, the spinning world still feels chaotic.

Rolling canyons of Kaibab Limestone, roasted Piñon, a symptom of losing balance.

The world can feel harsh when harmony is lost. Bright sun, no shade, anxiety, and vulnerability. The constant transitions and challenges of the last year frequently ruffled my feathers and challenged my resilience. In many ways, it felt like there was no way to regain balance. Hózhó feels like a word for it. Love feels like another. Whatever word and language we choose, love is what I felt most grateful for. My partner, Lauren, through any moment of disbalance, offered the sweetest love back. She demonstrated the value of relationship and the power of balance, when all of the weight is pulling to one side, you still can find center. This period felt simultaneously the most challenging period of my life yet and the most at peace. I found that love is Hózhó.

Lauren and I have been seeking balance in life together, and in harmony, we support each other. I am forever grateful for what love can share and am delighted that I am so loved. As cyber trucks enter the streets, shouting commands to turn on lights, and thousands of hours worth of energy are invested into our screens, Lauren and I have sought a slower and simpler life. We purchased a century-old home with many of its original woodworking still in place in the quiet town of Las Vegas, New Mexico. We have been growing food and raising chickens and a cute cat named Bisti. We are learning to find Hózhó as we know to understand it - learning to love.

Bright Angel Pueblo rests in quiet as the Colorado River races by and the sun sinks below an unseen horizon.

Change is inevitable. Change is what has brought all of us the exact way that everything is. Hózhó is learning, understanding, remembering, honoring, and respecting the story. The Bright Angel Pueblo site was a dynamic location. The number and nature of buildings evolved through time. The people who lived here do live here. The Black Bridge was erected with a huge labor input by the Hvasupai, who were forcibly removed from the Grand Canyon to make a National Park. Then asked to build its infrastructure. When we lose harmony with stories, and we only hear one narrative, we stumble.

There are multiple paths to live a life of balance. Symmetry is not required for balance, and stagnation makes us try to find equilibrium. Even in linear features, there is balance. The world moves, and so do we. To indeed be in balance, we must walk in beauty. There is so much pressure in the world from people who are lost in their imbalance. People are lost in a narrative that pulls them to the ground. Pressure from governments with the power and will to kill, it's felt at times hard to walk on this planet. But then, there is love, which shows us that Hózhó is accurate; we can walk in beauty with what we do. We can love the world.

The last light brings a glow to the Echo Cliffs, where stories of pilgrimage live. Migrating dunes, people are pilgrimaging by, marking the passage of age on the newspaper.

Ultimately, stories make us all who we are. Know one person shares our story, and we are our light holders. We must respect ourselves and challenge ourselves to work for Hózhó. It requires conscious participation. Love is not passive; it is active. Hóchxó arrives when responsibility is surrendered to irresponsible thoughts and actions. To maintain harmony, we must be conscious of our interconnectedness with self, others, and the world. Even in challenges, balance can be manifested. For me, from my experiences, Hózhó means to love. In love with the world, in the world, connected to the world.