‘Okiksapa’ is a Lakota Sioux word meaning, “to have gained wisdom from experience.”
When I got sober I was looking “to make sense of it all.” I walked out of a 28-day program at 48 and thought to myself, “What the hell happened?” After a couple of years I gravitated toward Native American spirituality. I seem to really relate to their philosophy.
One of the first books I read on the subject was, “The Wisdom of the Native Americans,” edited by Kent Nerburn. It’s a collection of Indian oration. I find great comfort in it. Of note, I was looking for a book on White Man wisdom – there just aren’t any out there today…
While I don’t care to make mistakes, for the most part I have learned from them. And that’s all we can really ask of ourselves. When we continue to make the same mistakes over and over, then I suppose we are destined to go through Life as dumb asses. Just that simple.
I am beginning a ‘series,’ called “Okiksapa.’ These are ‘bits of wisdom’ I have gained from experience. Some I’ve heard about; others I’ve experienced personally. They are what the are… and they have helped me along the way.