Daily Feast - July

[bluidkiti]

July 8 - Daily Feast

It is not enough to make something look good. The underlying principle must be good. How else could nature produce such majestic landscapes? They were created because the laws of creativity were good. Now things are made to be temporary - to self-destruct. If it doesn't work very long - junk it. No wonder there are piles of debris. No wonder relationships struggle. The underlying principle is too often based on the idea that if it doesn't work, get rid of it. Few things are as enduring as the hills, few things as calm and serene as the lake on a quiet day. But if we have no firm foundation on which to build, what can we expect but upheaval and having to begin again.

~ The earth is full of minerals of all kinds....the ground is covered with forests of pine....if we give this up....it is the last thing that is valuable to us or the white people. ~

WHITE GHOST

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day July 8

"You are going to learn the most important lesson - that God is the most powerful thing there is."

--Mathew King, LAKOTA

The Medicine Wheel teaches that there are two worlds - the Seen World and the Unseen World, or the Physical World and the Spiritual World. We need information from both of these worlds in order to live our lives in a harmonious way. The most difficult way is to figure things out by ourselves and leave the Great Spirit out of it. When we do this, we are making decisions with information only from the Physical World. This can be called reliance on self. If we ask the Creator to help us, we then get information from the Unseen World or the Spiritual World. The Spiritual World is where we get our power. When we do this, we are God-reliant. Being God-reliant is the same as being on the Red Road.

Great Spirit, whisper the secrets of the Unseen World in my mind's ear.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

First things and first times....the newness of the present moment holds such a breath of youth, such a challenge, there are moments in everyone's life they wish they could relive. Just to recall those times when the newness, the memory of first things were beautiful and exciting.

But life never stands still. It moves forward or it decays. It cannot hold on to the past in any way. If the newness of first things has not grown into finer and more beautiful moments, then it cannot go on.

Everyone can recall something so dear that it becomes new again just be thinking about it. Courage, love, joy, contentment, all these can call to mind the special moments that were beginnings of new eras, new times in living. The scales of life tip this way and that to make those times full of meaning and sometimes vividly painful. And then sometimes it takes a season to mend the heart and spirit. When they are ready, the experience of new times and new beginnings and first things will bloom once more and the youthful challenge again enchants.
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July 9 - Daily Feast

When people are secure, they can let someone else have the credit for doing something worthwhile and not complain. Sooner or later, the truth comes out anyway. Life always balances the credit. People have thought many times they were getting something for nothing - but listen, nothing stands for nothing. There is always compensation. Call it what it is. The only thing we don't pay for is love, real love, which the Cherokee calls, a da ge yu di. What we give, we receive. Life is reciprocal, it requires us to do the best we can and to leave judgment and balancing to Him Who works out all things to their perfection.

~ Tell your people....that since we were promised we should never be removed, we have moved five times. ~

A CHIEF, 1876

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day July 9

"We have to educate ourselves to know who we are. That's what I mean when I say, 'Teach the children.'"

--Eddie Benton-Banai, OJIBWAY

It is only by knowing ourselves that we can get in touch with our power. It is said, "Tell me what you know about yourself and I'll tell you what you know about God. Tell me what you know about God and I'll tell you what you know about yourself." As we increase knowledge of ourselves, as we choose to grow spiritually, as we clean up our act, then we can teach the children.

My Creator, You have said "Know thyself." Today let me see the wisdom of this Truth. Give me Your insight of myself. I am always walking the talk and most people can see it. Today, help and guide me on the Red Road.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

We have often heard it said that God never closes one door unless He opens another. It is a great comfort to know we never really lose when we believe, for any defeat can be turned to good if we will absorb the lesson in it.

And yet, how often we refuse to go through that door that has been opened for us. It is so much easier to stand back and wail about the closed one. There seems to be a certain amount of glorification in defeat. It is a subtle something that hides in us and keeps us from doing well that which we know we are capable of doing. If we show strength, we are afraid we will have to stand alone.

Sometimes a door will close for us because that particular one would have caused us more unhappiness, but it never closes for punishment. God is love and love does not punish, nor does it have any power but to give what is right and good for us. With this knowledge, we can be grace walk through those doors that open to us and know it is right.
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July 10 - Daily Feast

New trends and new ideas interest us, but how we love the familiar. We like to keep those things that are dear to us, old songs, familiar places, the good faces. Most of us don't want to recapture the old times. They have served their purpose and we have put too much into what counts for us now. But when something familiar comes to our ears, or a certain fragrance touches our memory, we are suddenly back there and reliving old times. It is tiresome to be forever striving toward the future. The road is unfamiliar - and every inch of it will have to be tested and tried. And then something we know by heart rises to the top and it buoys us up and we are ready to go again. Sometimes it takes the familiar to help us appreciate what we have today.

~ Grandfather, Great Spirit, the good road and the road of difficulties you have made me cross; and where they cross, the place is holy. ~

BLACK ELK

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day July 10

"Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new, sweet earth, and the great silence alone."

--Charles Alexander Eastman, OHIYESA SANTEE SIOUX

Each morning a new sun for a new day arises. Each morning the sweet perfume from the Mother Earth spreads across the land. This combination of sun, earth, smell and quiet is a magic door for me to enter to kneel before the Grandfathers. The sacred time to commune with the Great Spirit.

Oh Great Spirit, I humbly stand before You along with the new sun, the Mother Earth and the smells of the morning. I ask You to direct my thinking today. Let me live in the silence. Teach me Your wisdom, Teach me to love my brothers and sisters. Let me respect the things You have made.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Good ideas are the flower of the mind, waiting to bloom for the benefit of the thinker.

We are constantly in the process of manufacturing ideas. Every waking moment we are thinking continually, making mental images of that which we desire or need. Everything we see was first an idea in someone's mind.

Ideas are fleeting messages that pass rapidly through the mind. Some of them are strong enough to impress the thinker. Many are not worth saving, but a few are very precious. They have to be sifted, sorted and analyzed for value. Then they must be acted on immediately, for they are very perishable. Once we lose an idea, it is seldom if ever recaptured.

Everyone has access to a better and happier life through ideas, if we can trust the Lord to give us the will and courage to follow through on them.
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July 11 - Daily Feast

As unlikely as it seems at times, there is always a way - even a better way. If we can keep on working and using our vision, there will be solutions and they will not fail. Our limited view can make us believe answers must come through certain channels. It is hard to stop thinking that one particular way is all there is, that we have no choice. It makes us rely on a crust of bread when we could have a feast. If we want a breakthrough, we need to take off our blinders - stop pressing our minds into tiny molds that have no room to expand. Allow, even encourage, the mind and spirit to use the gift of, a go wa dv di, vision - extraordinary ability to see beyond ordinary sight, to a better way.

~ There was a time....our wants were within our control....we saw nothing we could not get. ~

SHARITARISH

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day July 11

"Do not grieve. Misfortunes will happen to the wisest and best of men. Death will come, always out of season. It is the command of the Great Spirit, and all nations and people must obey. What is past and what cannot be prevented should not be grieved for..."

--Big Elk, OMAHA Chief

Our earth continues to Grow by cycles and seasons: The cycles of growth - spring, summer, fall, winter. The cycles of the human being - baby, youth, adult, elder. It is through these cycles that we will experience the changes. I will not always necessarily agree with these changes but I need to trust the Grandfathers are in charge. Things will come and things will go. Really, I own nothing, the Creator owns all. Too often I label things as mine. I say this belongs to me, but it really belongs to the Creator. He gives me things to take care of. I need to do the best I can with what I have, with what I know at the time. And when the Creator changes things, I need to let go for His planning is the best.

Oh Great Spirit, today let me do the best I can with what I know, with what I have. Let me experience acceptance of Your will.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

James Russell Lowell once wrote, "No man is born into the world whose work is not born with him." Each of us has been given a talent. It may not be some great shining thing that will attract attention and bring fame. But living has become so intricate, so great in detail, so fine in its workings, that it requires that skill of all men.

Every time we touch something, hear, see, and feel, we are using the results of other people's talents. Too many take their own abilities for granted and see a task as just another job. But that isn't true, because no matter how small your part may seem, it takes its place in the world of living as important and necessary as the greatest talent.

The secret of a successful talent is in its use. The most minute gift was put there for a purpose and we should never belittle it but gratefully devote our attention to developing its perfection.

There are a number of self-improvement books on the market today. Among them are excellent etiquette books teaching us the correct way of doing things and how to live more graciously with our fellow man. But one can be quite learned and lose the benefit of keeping the social graces with oneself.

You owe it to yourself to quit belittling your abilities in thought or word. Self-respect is a necessity in order to keep on good terms with oneself.

You owe yourself spiritual growth - the ability to enter a church reverently and to sit quietly in your own preparatory service before the formal service begins.

It is your duty to fill your mind with the better thoughts, the sweetening of the nature and a measure of tolerance - for you will make mistakes, but there should also be the power to forgive oneself, to go on from there.

To be on good terms with oneself is to worry less about violating the rules of good behavior with all others.
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July 12 - Daily Feast

The fragrances of the countryside are exhilarating after a summer rain. Wildflowers and morning glories have spread profusely along fence rows, and bittersweet vines abound wherever they can take hold. One breath of fresh air, one beautiful smell of petunias on the evening breeze, is never enough. It has to be repeated and held in remembrance for another time, another place. A pill doesn't exist that works better than a country lane after a rain shower. Huge drops make secret symbols in the dust and are, a da to li gi, a blessing on the head of a Cherokee. It is a special message, a private baptism from the Great Spirit.

~ This country is mine, I was raised on it; my forefathers died on it; and I wish to remain on it. ~

CROW FEATHER

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day July 12

"Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit."

--Sitting Bull, TETON SIOUX

Our bodies are both physical and spiritual. At our very center we are spiritual. Our bodies are built around the spiritual. The center is the unseen world. Therefore, we cannot see it with our eyes and we tend to judge the body because we can see it. The body is not who we are. We can see the spiritual if we are spiritual ourselves. We won't see this always with our physical eyes. Usually we will see it with our spiritual eye. We will hear ourselves say "I know this to be true."

At the center of all human beings is the place of good. That includes myself. At my very core is good. I can find this place by staying free of resentments, fear, dishonesty and self-seeking motives. My Creator, keep me free this day of resentment, selfishness, dishonesty and fear.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Leave yourself a choice. It is a sorry state of affairs when a person's life becomes so regimented that it is impossible to make even one change in plans. There is a story about a gentleman who kept a record in minute detail of his living and every cent he earned so that he could make a trip abroad. The record keeping became such an obsession that when he could make the trip he took along crackers to keep from eating in the dining room aboard ship. The journey was nearly over before he discovered the price of his meals was included in the fare.

How much do we miss by refusing to accept the bounty of choices? "If only" and "I wish" are so over used. We bind ourselves daily by refusing to recognize the volume of opportunities open to each of us. All of life is not free, but there is much available for our personal selection.

Dr. William S. Sadler wrote of a woman who was so orderly and systematic in her living that she inquired of her minister how to go about dying since she had never done it before. Living in a systematic world is possible, but there are limits to what we can prepare for and about which to be orderly. Daily we meet and settle many small emergencies, and some not so small. And it is our developed ability to meet these things successfully and on the spur of the moment that makes a well-rounded individual.

But the steady, uniform methods of doing things do not necessarily mean a person is ready to meet every situation in life. In fact, such living often makes change practically impossible when change is sorely needed.

Order is heaven's first law. But order means first things first. A place for everything and everything in its place. Then, if we've learned how to live, we never have to worry about the art of dying gracefully.
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July 13 - Daily Feast

Summer heat has brought a lull to the meadows. Tiny titmice and bright yellow warblers stay close to watering places, and only the locust sings on in its raspy tones. It sings to remind us that it is summer and time to slow our pace. Hay meadows are dotted with bales, and wheat and beans are ready for harvest. Evening is alive with the songs of meadowlarks and killdeer, and the mockingbird is the comic that sings in all the other bird's voices. It would be impossible to live among the things of nature and not pace oneself to them. It is the nature of the Cherokee to go to a flowing stream with any problem he may have. And he comes away with the best harvest of all, a quiet eye and the peaceful harmony of summer.

~ I have a good heart, and I want no mistake made this time, to live with a good heart and talk truth. ~

CAPTAIN JACK

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day July 13

"Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice. You lived first, and You are older than all need, older than all prayer...You are the life of all things."

--Black Elk, OGLALA SIOUX

Great Spirit - Sometimes I don't feel like praying. Sometimes when I have done something wrong, I'm ashamed to come to You. Even though You have always been there for me, I sometimes choose to stay away. It's hard for me to understand what all knowing is. Sometimes it's hard for me to see how much You really care. But I know if I take a few minutes and think about what I know to be true about You, the things change and I am able to realize Your power and Your love. Today, I'll start by thinking of You. I'll think about all the times You have helped and guided me in the past. You are life, You are love, You are power, You are desire, You are truth, Your are principle, You are intelligence, You are courage. With You I am everything; without You I am nothing.

Creator, thank You for allowing me to start my day with You.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

What is it that keeps us from doing the creative things we want to do? Fear of venturing and losing, fear of the unknown? And yet, every day of our lives we venture and seldom acknowledge the fact that we didn't lose. We too often accomplish something because circumstances forced a courage we could not muster from mere desire.

Frequently we must simply have the audacity to lay aside the taboos we have built for ourselves, for fear of appearing foolish, and follow a creative curiosity.

When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "Give me a young man with brains enough to make a fool of himself," he didn't mean intentionally acting foolishly. He meant that a fearlessness of appearing foolish can enable us to step outside the realms of what others would call the limits.

The simplest ventures often bring joy to many, particularly to those who in the beginning dared to stand on their own chances of winning or losing.
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July 14 - Daily Feast

Never quit when the going gets tough. Now is the time to bear down even harder. It would be a shame to quit and find we had almost reached our goal. If a person that can't swim panics in deep water, he will sink. But if he rolls over and floats for a while, he can get his sense of balance and make the distance easily. The Cherokee believes he can endure, he can work, and he can fight. He will not be, a tsv na, turned back. We owe it to ourselves to see what we can accomplish. And it may well be that we can do what others said is not possible.

~ You showed me....the spirit shape of things as they should be. You have shown me, and I have seen. ~

BLACK ELK

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day July 14

"It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth... The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing, and healing."

--Chief Luther Standing Bear, TETON SIOUX

Touching the earth - getting grounded, centered. There is magic in touching the earth and feeling her healing power. This is especially healthy to do during a troubling time when our minds are racing or can't stop thinking or are locked onto fear or resentment. When I need to feel free I can go to the Mother Earth. The Mother Earth is full of life and love. She always gives her powers to those who come to her. The Mother Earth is alive.

Today, my Great Spirit, let me remember to touch the earth. Let me slow down and live just for today. Let me be gentle, patient and kind.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

This is a day that God has made, rejoice and be glad in it.

What we do with each day is largely decided by the thought we give it in the beginning and how we start a new day plays an immense part in the success or failure of either carefully laid plans or helter-skelter activity.

We should open this day with as much reverence as if it were gift wrapped and presented to us personally, which it is.

What wonderful thing can I do this day that no one else can do! Shall I spend these precious moments complaining? Shall I sit glum at my work to make others feel morbid? Should I continually acknowledge how little I have and how badly I feel?

Or should I speak kindly, think kindly, feel kindly, and be so grateful that I have another opportunity today to do something for others that will bring them joy and lift their spirits?

This day is in your hands. You will reap from it what you plant. If you would be loved, then be lovable; if you want peace, be peaceable; and if you would ask freedom, grant freedom. And learn to forgive without reservation.
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July 15 - Daily Feast

A shallow river that is not deep enough to hold all the water that runs into it during the rainy season is always in danger of pushing out of its banks. When it overflows, everything is in danger. Those who live near such a river know the must be prepared. They have seen havoc wreaked on everything in its way. But they have the same feeling about people who are so like the river. Such people have no control and no depths, and tend to push into the lives of others persons. Many of the walls we build are to protect us from intrusion. The Cherokees remember that need for, a li s de lv to di, safety or protection, and will not again be caught in the floodtide.

~ No man of my race has ever stood there before. The flood rises, looking upward I see a steep, stony path. I lead the way up.... ~

STANDING BEAR

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day July 15

"We are nothing compared to His power, and we feel and know it."

--Black Hawk, SAUK

Inside of every man and woman is a place of knowing. In this place is the knowing that there is a Great One, the Great Mystery, the Holy One, the Great Spirit. We can deny this all we want but we know what we know. This place of knowing is at the very center of our being. It is gratifying to know that God cannot leave us. It is said we are spiritual beings trying to be human. With this power in our lives, we can accomplish much. We can do many good things for our people.

Oh Great Spirit, I know of Your power. I love the days when I can feel Your presence. Let today be one of those days. Let me walk today in Your beauty.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

What is the texture of life?

Texture is that finely woven fabric of life that demands we have a congenial environment. It asks that we be industrious toward success, and that we should have a way of life, a purpose. We should hear the music of life and taste the bitter and the sweet.


Texture requires us to research every experience and learn the lessons in it. It orders us to communicate with life and make discoveries about ourselves and progress toward a texture where the coarse has been refined.

Frequently we should examine the texture of life to identify the quality. How wide is my world? How high is my sky?

All of us should know our own makeup, our capabilities, our gifts with which we have been divinely endowed. And we should think long on these words from Edna St. Vincent Millay's Renascence:

"The world stands out on either side no wider than the heart is wide. Above the world is stretched the sky, no higher than the soul is high."