[bluidkiti]

May 8 - Daily Feast

There is something very good about suppertime. Suppertime is more than just a time to eat - it is warm with happy memories. A few sunny hours to run barefoot after school, a time of homecoming and hearing what everyone else did during the day. Suppertime means watching Grandmother make, digalvnhi, Cherokee grape dumplings, and hearing her sing as she worked. A day, a time, an hour never stands on its own, but is bolstered by all those hours that have gone before. Nothing is ever lost - not even the simplest things - for time enhances what has been dear to us. We tend to look back and think something no longer exists. But it does, in all the lovely hours that wait for us - like suppertime - like singing in the kitchen and warm bread baking. This is not just memory, it is sharing life.

~ We do not want riches, we want peace and love. ~

RED CLOUD

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day May 8

"Anyways, with medicine there's a time and a place for everything. It only comes around once. You have to get it at the right time."

---- Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK

The old ones say two things must be present for a miracle to take place. One, the right time. Two, the right place. This is why we need to honor our ceremonies. Ceremonies are done in an order. This order is applied to open a "door" to the right time and place of the medicine. This door opens to the Spiritual World. The Spiritual World is available to us at the right time and the right place.

My Creator, let me be patient today so the timing is right.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

I don't know of anyone I'd rather see happy than you. Perhaps somewhere along the way you'll also find what causes it and maybe it will be something you can find within your heart to share with others....for only in sharing are we ever really happy.

Just remember that it may well be where you least expect it. You may recognize it as something you're about to give away....But don't worry, it will come back so many times; like love, it seeketh not its own but flies over us like angels. And when it finds a heart big enough to hold all the love it can supply it settles itself, wings and all, within the soul of that love.

And then the world will be new. There will be sights you've never seen, yet they have been there all the time....there will be laughter from the heart....and gratitude for all of life's privileges. There will be peace and contentment....and strength abounding to withstand all adversity....and quiet acknowledgment of God. For without God, there could be none of these.
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May 9 - Daily Feast

Sentences half spoken and beyond total hearing are the source of difficulty. Only in the bright light of reason and understanding can these cloudy mishaps be corrected. Some are simply tuned to hear the negative - even when it was never intended to be. They hear with an ear that is already bent toward trouble and only too willing to pass it on. We might consider what we want to hear - because everyone has moments when words tumble out with little meaning. Whether it is a slip of the tongue or simply filling in a quiet spell, we are sometimes guilty of speaking when we should have been listening. The tongue is a little member and sometimes kindles quite a fire when it should spit on the matches.

~ We are becoming like them.....all talkers and no workers. ~

BLACK HAWK

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day May 9

"Without a sacred center, no one knows right from wrong."

---- Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

In the center of the circle is where the powers reside. These powers are called love, principle, justice, spiritual knowledge, life, forgiveness and truth. All these powers reside in the very center of the human being. We access these powers by being still, quieting the mind. If we get confused, emotionally upset, feel resentment, anger, or fear, the best thing we can do is pray to the Great Spirit and ask Him to remove the anger and resentment. By asking Him to remove these obstacles, we are automatically positioned in the sacred center. Only in this way do we know right from wrong.

Great Spirit, allow me this day to live in the sacred center.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Have you even known someone whose very presence comforted you? They seem to have no need of words but their quiet companionship soothes like balm to the soul: these are your kindred souls who have already been the route you're traveling, or are just ahead and leaning back to take your hand.

Wherever you are on the path of life, there have been many there before you. It may seem the loneliness of the road has many empty echoes. But there have been many good people concerned enough to make an effort to mark the rougher places to allow your journey easier traveling.

And like all travelers we must look for those signs and make them more plain to the ones who will follow.

And then, in quiet communication, we can each take our turn by understanding.

How often we see people who desperately need our help. We would like to help them, but we put it out of our minds because it seems beyond our means and beyond our strength. We use the excuse that we have enough problems of our own without going out on a limb for someone else. Charity begins at home and at home and at home.

If we have the true desire, and the welfare of someone else in our sights, we can ask divine guidance, and we will receive help. If help does not come, it is because we were not truly serious. Or perhaps whatever we wanted to do was not in the best interests of all concerned. Our help may only have slowed their progress or weakened their efforts. If our desires are worthy we need to have no fear that a way will come to help.

The desire to help is a divine gift, and we accept it most beautifully by using it.
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May 10 - Daily Feast

We are complex combinations of many things. Mind, body, and spirit, yes, but with all the height and depth and feeling that make up the three. If one of these is not kept in shape and made to be harmonious with the others, we are out of balance. There is almost always more interest in one part rather than seeing the necessity of developing the whole person. What reading a book is to one person equals running a mile to another. It is natural to do what pleases us and makes us feel worthy. The Cherokee claims that if you, tso tle s di, sit down all the time or are idle in mind and spirit, the whole, I ya dv ne li da s di, complex system, suffers. Once upon a time, Indian dancing served the whole person, worshiping, exercising, and activating the mind. True fitness requires it all.

~ We work as hard as you do! Did you ever try skinning a buffalo? ~

OURAY, UTE CHIEF

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day May 10

"When you go inside that power, there's no fear. It's so beautiful!! There's no fear there. There's no pain."

---- Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

Imagine you are standing on the edge of a stage. In the center of the stage is a spotlight shining from above. If you stand anyplace outside the spotlight, in the darkness, you will experience fear. But as soon as you step into the light in the center of the stage, all fear and pain go away. When we stand in the power, fear cannot exist. How do we find this place of power? We pray our way into it. We ask the Creator to take our hand and help us. When we get to that place, we will feel the fear go away.

Great Spirit, hold my hand and guide me today.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

There are so many things we must come to know. If there are obstacles we have made them. And if there is unrest it is because of a lack of holiness, of recognizing the truly important. If our appetites are too great, it is not that we crave food or drink, but something higher than that which we are experiencing.

Sometimes we fail to know the needs of others, but more often we can see their needs more clearly than we can our own. And we can help ourselves quickly by recognizing the truth of our own being.

We are spiritual beings and to operate in the strict physical and mental sense is likened to running a car with only gasoline. It cannot be done efficiently. It takes water, gasoline, and oil.

When we learn that it takes our physical, mental, and spiritual beings to make one person, then we are whole and have eliminated the inability to help ourselves. The outcome depends on you and me. And it is our duty to disqualify the thousand and one excuses that keep us from that duty.
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May 11 - Daily Feast

Honeybees that relied on early flowers in the garden can now feast all across the meadows. Red clover, honey locust trees, and rose-colored Indian paintbrush abound in clusters to feed the bees and give peace to the eye. An evening chorus of field sparrows trills in the wheat field and a nesting killdeer demands privacy by doing her broken-wing act to sidetrack walkers. The whole meadow teems with activity until dusk - and then a silence pervades, only to be broken by the throaty voice of the tree toad. It is common knowledge among the Cherokee that every animal, except man, knows the main business of life is to enjoy it, and he, the Cherokee, sides with nature.

~ Seed time is here but your grounds have not been prepared for planting. Go back and plant the summer's crop. ~

KEOKUK, 1832

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day May 11

"[The Old People] would gather words as they walked a sacred path across the Earth, leaving nothing behind but prayers and offerings."

---- Cleone Thunder, NORTHERN ARAPAHOE

Whenever we walk on the Earth, we should pay attention to what is going on. Too often our minds are somewhere else, thinking about the past or thinking about the future. When we do this, we are missing important lessons. The Earth is a constant flow of lessons and learning, which also include a constant flow of positive feelings. If we are aware as we walk, we will gather words for our lives, the lessons to help our children; we will gather feelings of interconnectedness and calmness. When we experience this, we should say or think thoughts of gratitude. When we do this, the next person to walk on the sacred path will benefit even more.

My Creator, today, let me be aware of the sacred path.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Most successful ventures have behind them some hardships. We as human beings, demand such experiences before we can truly appreciate the meaning of victory. No one promised that life would be son long gala event, but if we're made of durable stuff, we neither let it hinder us nor make us run roughshod to get ahead.

We must always recognize past hardships for what they are. We cannot ignore them, for they are a part of our makeup. But neither can we let them become crutches to lean upon when there's a need for an excuse.

Bitterness over past experiences wastes valuable time. Perhaps it was those hardships that gave us the strength to rise above the mediocre things. However crude, ugly or unhappy, even when combined with all our other knowledge they form the perfect circle and play no more important part than all the rest.

In the words of American poet John Neal, "No man ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm."
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May 12 - Daily Feast

Country people do not find it strange to hear the pond is turning over. They know it is not doing a flip but everything that has fallen in it suddenly comes to the top. It is nature's way of cleaning house. It isn't pretty but it does work. The whole pond of human affairs needs to turn over at times. When everything seems to happen at once, friends disagree, and coworkers are suddenly mired in stuff from the bottom of the pond, it is time to clean house. It isn't always, u wo du hi, beautiful or pretty, but it does work. The best part is that it doesn't last long. Everything rights itself with time - for a while. It helps to know that when something unclean falls in the water, eventually the pond will turn over to get rid of it. It just takes time.

~ We took an oath not to do any wrong to each other or to scheme against each other. ~

GERONIMO

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day May 12

"All the stones that are around here, each one has a language of its own. Even the earth has a song."

---- Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

To believe that every tree, plant and insect can talk takes an open mind. Go by yourself into nature and sit quietly. Then pick up a rock and listen to your thoughts. After a while, put that rock down and pick up another rock. Your thoughts will change. These are the voices and wisdom of the Stone People. Each one has different wisdom and they are willing to share their wisdom with you. Many of the Stone People are very old and very wise.

Great Spirit, let every rock and leaf be my teacher.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Think on pleasant things. Deliberately turn your thoughts to something pleasant when the pressures are too intense. And be careful as undisciplined thought quickly sifts back to the unhappy, unsettled mind.

The greater part of the time we are victims of our emotions. They play havoc with our peace of mind and are great friends of pessimism. They tell us things are true with such sincerity that we believe them into fact. They convince us things are a certain way and that we cannot remedy them with any amount of effort.

But stop where you are and consider what it is you are listening to and how it affects your feelings. Do a turnabout and take the positive route of deliberately replacing thoughts of unhappiness, injustices, and misunderstandings with the thought that these are merely chariots to carry us past all that has withheld freedom.
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May 13 - Daily Feast

Sometimes it takes another person standing on the outside of our emotional problem to do for us what we can't seem to do for ourselves. We need those who can see beyond appearances and will let us lean on them until we are in control again. It isn't the Cherokee's natural bent to discuss a problem openly with anyone. Silence is not only golden, it is safer and does nothing to make a problem grow as he believes talking will. But he knows the time, the place and the right person will avail themselves to him, and then he can talk. It isn't that we fear showing a weakness, but that we know the power of the word to make matters worse if we talk in a negative way about our needs. Even prayer should not be to reiterate our wants. Yoweh knows what we need. He waits for our adoration and thanksgiving that the needs are already provided for.

~ There is a dignity about the social intercourse of old Indians which reminds me of a stroll through a winter forest. ~

COCHISE

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day May 13

"But the great spirit has provided you and me with an opportunity for study in nature's university, the forests, the rivers, the mountains, and the animals which include us."

---- Walking Buffalo, STONEY

What we really need to learn is how to live life. Nature is the greatest university when we want to learn about balance, harmony, the Natural Laws and how to live life. But we will never learn unless we spend time in the "living university." Nature is full of examples, lessons, and exercises about life. Nature will help humans learn. Nature will help humans heal. Nature will help with Medicine, knowledge and healing. The reason our Elders are so wise is because they have attended the right educational system - nature's university.

Great Spirit, help me to become wise.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Until you've walked in the rain you cannot truly appreciate the protection of shelter.

Until you've felt the heat from a sweltering sun you cannot fully enjoy the coolness of shade.

Only after the clatter and bang of crowded places can you find quietness and solitude so soothing to the nerves.

Before you can stop worrying and start living, there must be an elimination of fear which is the cause of all worry.

Sometimes, unfortunately, we must collide with the bad before we can totally appreciate the good.

It is said that we too often must be reminded of our obligations before we take charge of them.

Frequently it seems we must have our freedom threatened before we muster enough patriotism to defend it.

Too many shoulders are bowed by our thoughtlessness before we finally learn the key to real success is kindness.

We never know how truly wonderful it is to be loved until we are loved when we've failed to deserve it.

M.R. Smith's words, "God's plans, like lilies pure and white untold - We must not tear the close shut leaves apart - Time will reveal the calyxes of gold," reveal, after all, that patience does its perfect work.
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May 14 - Daily Feast

How many times she called me to her side to share something beautiful - the glowing embers in a sunset, the call of a whippoorwill, or one of those rare moments when Venus draws near the new moon. How many times she held my hand to comfort me through hope and fear, birth and death, happiness and unhappiness. How many times she taught me that no one is ever alone. We are always in the presence of Father-God who loves us - no matter what might appear to frighten us. How many times she said, "You can do it!" and how many times she refrained from saying, "You'll never make it." And how many blessings I wish upon her - my mother!

~ I will come with my family and pitch my lodge in your camp, that others may see....you are under my protection. ~

EAGLE WING

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day May 14

"Prayer is the best answer to all of the trials that face us, because without prayer, even if we succeed in accomplishing some great goal in the eyes of men, we have failed in our sacred responsibilities, and thus we have failed in what is truly important."

--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

What are our sacred responsibilities? One is to be of maximum service to the Creator, and two is to serve the people. In a way, it's like the Great Spirit is the employer and we are the employees. We live each day, do what we do, accomplish our goals, face our difficulties, overcome them all to the Glory of the Creator. We do these things to make Him proud! Even if we work for a company, agency or tribe, they are nor really our employer; the Creator is our employer. Working for the Creator is better than working for a human being, because each night we can talk to the Creator and ask Him, "Well, how did I do today?" He answers back each night, "I'm proud of you, my child; sleep well, and in the morning I'll give you a new set of growing experiences."

Great Spirit, today, let me work for you. You will be my new boss.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

It takes such a little whiff of memory to carry us all the way back. Small things tucked here and there remind us of some place, something, some person who has played a special part in our lives.

We want to go forward, try new things, know new people, visit new places, yet how nice to slip on those comfortable old slippers of the familiar bygones and remember loving faces and happy times.

It is said that we should never return to places that have a sacred spot in our memories. Everything changes with time, so little remains recognizable to us. We begin to think that perhaps those hallowed places were not so wonderful as we remember.

But they were, for in their time and that place it was as it should have been, happy and meaningful. They may have changed, but so have we.

A little of every place and every person goes with us in the building of even happier times. We have not lost anyone or anything but it is the combination of all that we have lived and learned that builds our character and teaches us the way of life.
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May 15 - Daily Feast

Our willingness to work at whatever we can opens doors to new opportunities. Willingness breathes life into us and gives us vision. Hope is good but determination is even better. It sets the tone to move, to do the thing set out for us. And we can do anything when we do not stop to consider what if we were to fail, or what is we are not appreciated. Cherokee women were never considered inferior to the men. They were honored and respected and educated themselves so they could teach their children. It meant hard work and determination to perfect what they could so they could pass it on. Sometimes, the main objective of our work is not just to prosper us but to do a worthwhile thing well. We keep labor on a high level, never taking the easy way out. There is honor in work - even in the most menial job. Success is short-lived when the work is done for appearances.

~ If our children should visit this place.....they may see and recognize with pleasure the deposits of their fathers. ~

SHARITARISH

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day May 15

"We must have respect and understanding for women and all female life on this Earth which bears the sacred gift of life."

--Traditional Circle of Elders. ONONDAGA

At a gathering of Native Elders we were told that many men of today had lost their ability to look at the Woman in a sacred way. They said we were only looking at Her in a physical sense and had lost the ability to look at Her sacredness. They said the Woman has a powerful position in the Unseen World. She has the special ability to bring forth life. They told us to start showing Her respect and to look upon her in a sacred manner. We must start this today.

Grandfather, show me how to see in a sacred way.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Whenever we stop to consider where we are on the road of life, we might also think about why we are there. Whether it is success or failure, or wavering in the middle of the road, we are where we are because of someone or something.

Nearly every person can pinpoint the time in their life when there was a turning point, a change for worse or for the better. And usually there is someone to whom they give the credit for such a change.

Throughout our lives we contact many people and they each leave an impression. As living continues the combination of all those thoughts and feelings and actions forms our opinions, our likes and dislikes, our fears and our loves. But there is one basic factor in all of this that turns us one way or other - the individual, the personal self. It is how we take life, what we expect, how we do our daily tasks, where we place our values that make the difference.

We are born with the right to choose - and whatever we choose there will always be someone there to help us be good or bad. But first, we must give credit where credit is due.