[bluidkiti]

February 8 - Daily Feast

It is interesting to see someone take one little idea and make it grow into something that benefits many people. Could it be that an idea hangs before us like a worm in a chrysalis that is able to emerge as a beautiful ka ma ma - butterfly? When we reach for the stars we should remember that we are rooted and grounded in little things. The basis for success that lasts is the knowledge that slow and careful construction cannot be toppled by fickle and fast-moving tastes. So much is made to be temporary - the fast-moving fads - and people jump aboard to ride them for the duration. In the process the ka ma ma is crushed before it ever develops, and the pupa-idea must begin all over again. But it remembers its beginnings, its basic purpose.

~ I may be forced to adopt a new way of life, but my heart and spirit spring from the red earth. ~

PAINTED WOLF

'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 8

"No individual or group can block another individual's path or change it against what fits his nature and his purpose. It might be done for a time, but in the end it won't work out."

--Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE

Every person is born for a purpose. We may know our purpose very early in our lives, or it may take us some time. Very often we need to experience many things before our purpose is clear to us. Sometimes we pick our goals to please others. Sometimes others pick our goals to make themselves happy. Often this makes us unhappy. We need to pray to the Creator and ask Him what our purpose is. When we live outside our purpose, our path is full of obstacles. When we live inside our purpose, our path is smooth. When we are aligned to our purpose, we are happy and content.

Great Spirit, whisper to me, in terms I can understand, what You would have me do and I will do it.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Do you want to know the truth about worry? It hits everyone. It is not an ailment just for weaklings or cowards. Worry is the cat you throw out only to have it back in before you can close the door.

Worry has another side. It proves we care very much, and that we appreciate our God-given gifts and loved ones. In a way, it is a sign of strength, for if we can turn it to faith, then faith can be just as strong. And to overcome worry, or to at least control it, there must be faith.

Faith, and the knowledge that if you could be in all the places, watching closely all the things about which you are concerned, you couldn't do a tenth as much good as one simple prayer.

We are taught, "Be not anxious," "Fear not," and "Be not afraid," and too quickly we become anxious, fearful, and very frightened. But even then we have only to put worry to flight by remembering those quieting words that are so absolutely true, "Be still and know that I am God."

Recently we had a summer storm. It was rumbling and heavy with darkness. The lightning flashed across the sky, and trees bent back and forth in the uncertain currents. When the first huge drops of rain spattered across the walks and lawns, our thoughts turned to the safety of anyone or anything that might be caught out in the wind and rain.

We've been through many summer storms. Some of them left permanent marks upon our memories. The threatening, the darkness, the pressure of the atmosphere are not so different from the emotional storms of the human life. We see lives under pressure bend to and fro in the uncertainty of life. We know concern for the safety of those who experience emotional storms. Then we know the only answer is in God's hands. There is no other way.

The good earth rights itself quickly after a storm. Nature comes forth more richly for having gone through the storm, and the scars are lost in new growth. And blessed are we when we lift ourselves up to a new, deeper radiance and peace.
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February 9 - Daily Feast

To some, power is domination, ruling anything defenseless. But that isn't power, it is abuse, and abuse is cowardly. Abuse takes advantage where it can, always pretending to be the victim, but looking for the opportunity to overpower. Forget the idea that power is from the world. Whole worlds have been changed in minutes. Power that was bold and bragging can suddenly be a whimper. Empires have crashed and those that caused so much misery have deflated like balloons. Real power is not nigvnhdiha, which is understood by the Cherokee to be put on. It is from an inner source, characteristically calm, like a great river that flows smoothly but drives huge cities with energy. A single drop of water seems powerless and takes the way of least resistance, but joined to all the others, it has force. One person may seem inadequate to change anything, but united with others, can change anything.

~ The red man must leave the land of his youth and find a new home in the far west. ~

SHABONEE, 1827

'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 9

"It can be 100 degrees in the shade one afternoon and suddenly there comes a storm with hailstones as big as golf balls, the prairie is all white and your teeth chatter. That's good-a reminder that you are just a small particle of nature, not so powerful as you think."

--Lame Deer, LAKOTA

No event, no relationship, no joy, no sadness, no situation ever stays the same. Every setback is only temporary. Even setbacks change. Why? Because the Great Spirit designed the world to be constantly changing. We are not the center of the universe, we are but a small part. The whole is constantly changing, and we as humans are constantly participating in the change. We have two choices, to resist change or participate in the change. Every change can be resisted, and every change can be made in cooperation. What will I choose today, resistance or cooperation?

Great Spirit, teach me to make cooperative changes.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

To have the desire to quit in the face of despair is not a new story. As long as time, people have wanted to give up when something hinders their progress. But such adversity is sometimes the right time for people to become acquainted with themselves.

It has been written that a smooth sea does not make a skillful mariner. The storms of human life, like those of the seas, awaken us to sharpening our abilities and strengthening us to overcome these present storms to the point where we seldom have to face them again. Most of living is a lesson, and the sooner we learn to study and develop the sooner we are rid of the teacher.

But in the words of Jeremy Taylor, "It is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent." And it is impossible for people not to progress if they acknowledge their Helper in the most minute details of their lives.

Prepared for the worst? Forget it! Only worry prepares for the worst. If problems come to you, meet them with courage when they arrive. And worry has never produced courage. Faith produces courage, and keeps us from crossing all those unnecessary bridges. In fact, we cross bridges that have never been in existence, and have no strength except that which we give them by constant preparation for something that isn't good.

Promise yourself to cross no bridges this day except those you find immediately before you. And nine times out of ten they will lead only to happiness.
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February 10 - Daily Feast

Turn around right where you are and face the frightening situation, the lion, hlvdaji, on your path. Don't waver and dodge. Look the problem in the eye and call it nothing. Speak to it in definitive words so that there is no doubt that it must go. Wisdom tells us to get out of harm's way at times, but it never tells us to weep with fear. Once we turn to face it, a quiet determined strength pours in to end the terror. Fear is terrorism. It is not running from it that cripples us but refusing to call it what it is. When fear takes over it flows through all our thinking. If we have any faith at all, it is scared faith, but faith will grow when we charge it with determination and powerful words.

~ Make everything straight and strong. ~

DRAGGING-CANOE

'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 10

"The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors."

--Plenty Coups, CROW

Mother Earth is the source of life and the place all life returns to. She gives us life. She feeds us through our journey and she waits for us to return to her. The Indian way is to recognize the earth as the place of our ancestors. That is why certain places on earth are considered sacred areas and sacred land; this is the place of our ancestors. We all need to reflect upon the earth, the place where our ancestors lived. We need to have love and respect for the earth.

My Creator, let me honor the place of our ancestors, Mother Earth.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

The longest face and the saddest cry
Always seem to come with the question why
Why did you take what belonged to me?
It has always been mine, or can't you see
That you have no rights, not right to claim,
And you did just that, you're to blame
For all my unhappiness, all of my tears.
Well, perhaps not all, part were my fears.
And I suppose if I think I can also say
That if I've lost anything, it's really the way
That I treat the things that used to be mine.
I saw clouds on the days where there was really sunshine,
I turned often to darkness instead of the light,
I saw all of the wrong, but never the right,
And in all honesty I suppose I must say
If I've lost anything, I gave it away.
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February 11 - Daily Feast

Many things from the past echo faintly within us - voices, sounds, thoughts. Only a few ring clear like a bell from many long ago seasons. Persistent memories call us back to deal with details - some of them best forgotten. Why do we remember? Perhaps to clarify what we feel, to help us be more objective about the present moment. Or maybe to force us to see that pattern of our own lives so that we may throw out events that have been obstacles. Sometimes we remember just so we can be grateful. Like the well-fed dog that turns primitive at the sight of a bone, we pick up on our own instincts and react before we think. If we see what is about to happen we can meet it with good humor and have less need to make everyone in the present time pay dearly for what happened so long ago.

~ I want peace, that we may......sleep in our houses and rise in peace on both sides. ~

BLOODY-FELLOW

'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 11

"Oh God! Like the Thunderbird of old I shall rise again out of the sea; I shall grab the instruments of the white man's success- his education, his skills, and with these new tools I shall build my race into the proudest segment of your society."

--Chief Dan George, SALISH

One thing the Indian people do well is adapt. This is why we survive. We must learn to keep our culture, but also to learn the good things that other races have to offer. Education is the future weapon of Native people. We must learn the legal system, health, science and engineering. Indian people have great contributions to make to the world. We need to educate ourselves so we can better protect the land and our children. Otherwise, we will lose the things and the land that we have.

Great Spirit, make me teachable today.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

If you could remake your personal world, how would you want it? Very few can answer that question immediately. Many cannot answer after a great deal of consideration. Maybe we are drifters to a degree. There seems to be a certain amount of apprehension and fear about saying, or even thinking of what we want out of life. It must be that we feel some of it isn't right to want, or that maybe we are asking more than should be our share.

Money is probably the first thing that most people think about, because of what they could do for themselves and for others. But what of health and peace and love? Without these all the fame and money in the world would be entirely meaningless. Without a spiritual foundation to one's life, all our desires are built on sand. Without knowing where we're going, we are drifters.

To know what we want with good is the first and most important step. As Carlyle wrote, "The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder - a waif; a nothing. Have a purpose in life, and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you."

Tennyson wrote these beautiful words: "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. What are men better than sheep or goats, that nourish a blind life within the brain, if, knowing God, they lift no hands of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friends!"

What on this earth could we possibly have of good that has not come from the Almighty? What inroads are made into disease and sickness, what light has focused more understandingly on mental illness and weaknesses, without having been revealed through something greater than we are?

And indeed, to what can we contribute the smallest or greatest amounts of success, the love we share, the true joys, the peace, and our very breath. How presumptuous of us to believe we own one thing of lasting value that does not come from God.
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February 12 - Daily Feast

The Cherokee can agree with Sir Francis Drake when he wrote about the herb garden, "A perfect garden planted with herbs, when trod upon gives the very air a delightful fragrance." But to the Cherokee it meant even more - food and medicine. As a child, I spent much time following my Grandmother Essie in search of herbs, mullein, lamb's quarter and other things I hoped I wouldn't have to eat in greens, but the hunt was a joy. Kneeling to dig the herbs, feeling the soil and the warmth of the sun, gave me the realization that the plants were only a part of a gift from Asga Ya Galun lati. I was also being given the day to enjoyment, the songs of dozens of birds, the little meal I shared with Grandmother, and her company away from others.

~ A Cherokee woman is never idle and has no time to tattle or to create mischief. ~

WILLIAM FYFFE

'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 12

"The spirit still has something for us to discover-an herb, a sprig, a flower-a very small flower, maybe you can spend a long time in its contemplation, thinking about it."

--Lame Deer, LAKOTA

The world today is about hurry up! Get there faster! Work harder, produce more, hurry up, eat quickly, be on time, don't get stressed- headaches, conflict, drink to calm down, go to training on stress management, time management-STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! Go spend 5 minutes with a flower or a plant. Look at it-think about it-look at its beauty, smell it, close your eyes and smell it again. Touch it; touch with your eyes closed. Listen to it; listen to it with your eyed closed. Slow your mind down. Think about the little things. Now close your eyes and pray.

Great Spirit, this feeling of calmness that I have, let me have it all day long.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Aim high, even though it seems at the moment you'll never reach that cherished dream. It is your duty to lift yourself above mediocrity. And if you're afraid your dream will sound foolish, then don't talk about it, work for it.

Some dreams have gossamer wings, too fragile to discuss. We can be so zealous about our plans that we talk away the mystery and lose interest in the things we have begun. Zeal can burn itself out in one, quick, bright flame, or it can be nurtured into strength that is the basis for greatness.

If dreams have substance, then they may well come true. And if they are in line with the law of good, then there will be someone who wants to help. To have the desire to do something that will benefit others, the desire to serve, is to have a dream with solid possibilities.

The aims, then, must be deserving as to become duties. It falls to certain individuals to develop a gift and use it in helping other people. As German philosopher Immanuel Kant has written, "What are the aims which are at the same time duties? They are the perfecting of ourselves and the happiness of others."
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February 13 - Daily Feast

Once a person gets despair out of the way, few things can slow his progress. Despair is the dividing line between those who can take impossibility in stride and those who wilt at the first sign of opposition. Too much energy is absorbed in despair. Strength gives way to weakness and weakness robs us of the will to overcome. Anything that wastes energy should be left behind. Energy cuts doubt to the bone. When a word of power is spoken, new strength is generated. Power words are not just u wo du hi, pretty words, but strong words of courage that are heard in the ear and then in the heart where they stay to do a perfect work.

~ This is a serious time with you. May the Lord bring you out of all your troubles. Trust your course with Him. ~

CHIEF JOHN ROSS

'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 13

"I wanted to feel, smell, hear and see, but not see with my eyes and my mind only. I wanted to see with CANTE ISTA - the eye of the heart."

--Lame Deer, LAKOTA

Why is it what some people seem to have peace of mind every day? How do some people remain so darn positive? How do you stay positive if you work or live in a negative environment? How is it that two people can observe the same difficult situation, but one person is upset about it, and other isn't? Two people experiencing the same situation react entirely different. If each morning we ask the Creator to allow us to see with His understanding and with His love, we will open a new way of "seeing". This eye of the heart is a free gift given to us if we ask for it in prayer each day.

Grandfather, allow me to see the world and all things You have made through "the eye of my heart."

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Courage must have its everyday face. We can't preserve it just for special occasions. We must have courage when we are disappointed, because disappointment is a robber of reason and faith, and even dignity. We must remember that whatever we have to meet there is something within us to help us meet it. But it is like a vein of rich ore. We must tap it, know what it is, and turn it into a finished product that will serve a purpose.

Every day we must have courage to forgive. The adamant we shall always face, but to forgive is to disarm. To forgive is to release and to release is to remove the graceless things that make it necessary to forgive.

A little common, everyday courage can give a life so much more to live for and to find contentment in the knowledge that today I did not give in to the smaller self. And I can draw on the strength from One who bore personal suffering with supreme courage.

A comforting adage is that it is always darkest just before the dawn. The darkest of fear and worry and misunderstanding can last only so long, and then the light of dawn breaks through to show everything in its true perspective.

To someone who is troubled, the darkness holds only the most frightening difficulties. This kind of night seems to have no end, but given a little time it will pass, as will our problems.

The very fact that we are not alone should give some comfort, for no matter what we are experiencing someone else has been there too. We must not delude ourselves with notions that we are meant to be cross-bearers forever.

And frequently, they are much better people who emerge from their own night to remember that it is as important to have faith in the dark as it is easy to have faith in the sunshine.
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February 14 - Daily Feast

Our wounds need time to heal. And when it seems the healing has done its work, protection from further hurt is necessary, because our scars are on the surface. Physical wounds are bad enough, but when they come from mental cruelty and unfair treatment, pain returns again and again to reopen what no one should have to bear. It seems almost a sacrilege to ask someone so deeply hurt to forgive those who caused it. Yet unforgiveness causes damage almost as devastating as physical wounds, or more so. There is great stress on bearing grudges and the abused do not need any new pain or new problems. Forgiveness does not set the abusive free, but the abused.

~ I was living peaceably and satisfied when people began to speak bad of me. ~

GERONIMO

'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 14

"Sometimes, life is very simple, but it is we two-leggeds, we who are thought to be smart that make it complicated."

--Larry P. Aitkin, CHIPPEWA

Sometimes it may take years for us to find out what we are really after-it is to be happy. The Elders say, lead a simple life. This doesn't necessarily mean poor, it means simple. There are some things that makes life complicated such as needing control, needing power or being resentful or angry. These things make complications happen. We need to walk in balance in every area of our lives.

Great Spirit, let me lead a simple life.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Why is it that the things we love can cause us so much pain, and perhaps without realizing it? Why is it that we find so much to worry about in all the "what ifs" that cross our minds with such persistence? What makes fatigue follow us through the hours and drain away precious strength that we need to help us in our daily routine?

All the things that plague is daily have one common cause - fear. To some, fear is a constant companion. We may call it by many other names such as necessity, time, busyness, demands, but all of these can be forms of fear.

Fear produces the most mental, physical, and spiritual fatigue that has ever overtaken humans. It rushes us so that we have accidents. It drains us of strength to resist illness. It tells us we cannot produce enough to meet the demands upon us. And it builds within our minds such dire images so that we cannot face the simplest.

Fear has one antidote. It is not to stop worrying and take it easy, but it is faith. Adverse conditions cannot break us in the face of faith. Faith allows us to look fear in the eyes with such confidence that it loses its power over us.

English divine, Frederick William Robertson, wrote, "To believe is strong. Doubt cramps energy. Belief is power."
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February 15 - Daily Feast

Once change begins it often comes in multiples, ranging from easily handled small changes to the great ones that can become unwieldy. When this is the case, it tends to scatter our forces. It is harder to achieve order and staying power when our attention is scattered. There is a calm center to everything. Even a tornado, which the Cherokee calls u no le, swirls around a calm eye. Most calm places are very small, but small cells of tranquility can be the seed of greater peace. We have to believe in peace - even though we cannot always feel it. It is within us and it will grow if we give it the opportunity. With peace of mind, doors open, the tide turns, and something good breaks for us. It is good enough reason to work towards solutions rather than dwelling on problems.

~ Stand fast and remain united and all will soon be well. ~

CHIEF JOHN ROSS

'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 15

"One of the essential characteristics we need to learn as men was to be gentle, and to be gentle means to be serene, to enter meditation or a prayerful state in the morning and evening."

--Larry P. Aitken, CHIPPEWA

The most important talk we can do during any day, is to start the day with prayer and meditation. We need to ask the Creator to be in our lives. We ask Him to direct our thinking. We ask Him for the courage and the power to be gentle. In the morning quiet time, we make our request for guidance using our spiritual tools. We pray for the people and we pray for ourselves. In the evening we thank the Creator for the day, for the lessons and for the opportunity to be of service to others. Then we go to sleep.

Great Spirit, today, show me the power of being gentle.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

At these times when we have planned for something and have our hearts set on our affairs going in a certain direction but they fail to materialize, we are disappointed. If we have any faith at all, we must remember that one door never closes but another opens. That which once seemed the right thing to plan for may not hold all the things that would be for our good in the long run. It may have been right in the beginning, but as time passes and other events come into being, a change may be necessary for the benefit of the over-all picture.

Sometimes we fix our attention so rigidly on one thing, one part of life, one person, that a change throws us into a state of extreme disappointment. But disappointment, like all of the emotions, can serve to strengthen rather than take away. The attitude with which we face life can determine its outcome.

We can look with woeful eyes on the negative mental attitude and wallow in self-pity, or we can flip the mind to the upper side and let the positive mental attitude bring us to the strength and peace we need.

Disappointment is something no one has escaped. The many plans we make sometimes fade like mist in the sunlight. A cherished dream may take another shape and to lose that vision can throw a dim view on all of life. Because one tiny part could not be fulfilled, we are so tempted to let all of the rest go with it.

But if only we could wait a bit. So often we then come to realize the reason for our change in plans.

Sometimes disappointment is the very thing that keeps us mounting the steps upward, keeps us stretching our minds to understand. And it may test our spirits. For is disappointment can make a spirit better, the joy of accomplishment would have soon soured.

There's no joy in a disappointment, but it may be the thing to save us from a life of mediocrity.

English novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton wrote, "Man must be disappointed with the lesser things in life before he can comprehend the full value of the greater."