[bluidkiti]

March 16 - Daily Feast

It seems there is often too much of one thing and not enough of the other. Balance has a way of disappearing when we need it most. But it is our fault for thinking that once we have things all working together it will stay in balance without our having to do anything else. Nothing is so set that it will never change. We should never give in to challenge that throw us off center. Wait a little while. Something may be working that we don't know about. Don't accept everything as it appears. It can change in a moment's notice and swing our way. Very often the law of nonresistance is at work here. Some of our best decisions are based on standing still until we can get a true picture.

~ When life is easy, complex pattern of life can develop. ~

COOWEESCOOWEE

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 16

"Each of us must know in our minds and believe in our hearts that even though we are different, you are like me and I am like you."

--Larry P. Aitken, CHIPPEWA

One of the definitions of humility is having an awareness of one's own character defects. To recognize and acknowledge that one has imperfections is being humble. We should never pray for ourselves unless by doing so it would help another person. To have self-importance puts self first and this is not humble. We each have strengths and we each have weaknesses. Both the strengths and weaknesses are sacred. Life is sacred. We learn sacred things from weaknesses also. Therefore, all lives are developed through trial and error, strength and weakness, ups and downs, gains and losses-all of these are part of life and life is sacred.

Great Mystery, let me see and know about the sacredness of life.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Sensibility is said to be neither good nor evil in itself, but in its application. Sometimes we just "out-sensible" ourselves. In the course of years we come to see the pattern of the truly sensible. What have we at this moment that really means anything? Does it give us happiness? Did it once seem most impractical? Was it worth fighting for?

The intellectual strives for knowledge and in his absorption leaves the world but hardly leaves a vacancy. The materialistic must have everything at the price of peace, and their possessions decay but never their chaotic souls. And the insecure forfeit the most minute comforts to save for that rainy day. Happiness would have been greater and far more lasting if the fund had been smaller and used as an opportunity fund.

The fine line of sensibility can be most elusive but it seems to be more clearly seen when we relax and quit shoving to get there. If the place we desire is meant for us, it will come when we learn the way isn't always sharp and direct and by demand.
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March 17 - Daily Feast

Remembering is painful at times. It is so easy to relive what happened, and what did not happen, and we try to take all the blame. A fortunate few can look back and delight in the memory of times past. Most see it as a reflection of our own guilt. We know what guilt is. Why dud we not do a better job, pay more attention, follow a hunch? It is probably because we are better at hindsight than we will ever be in seeing things as they are now. Would we have done differently if we knew then what we know now? Maybe. But how could we see past the bend in the road? The best thing we can do for ourselves is to forgive. Forgiving heals. It clears the way for quality time - time to build and love, and renew and restore. It is what the Cherokees call, a da to li s di, a time of grace when we have done nothing to deserve it.

~ I am tired of fighting.....from where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. ~

CHIEF JOSEPH

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 17

"By listening to the inner self and following one's instincts and intuitions, a person may be guided to safety."

--Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA

Be still and know. The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of inner power-not personal power, but the power of God. These four directions are emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. As our emotions get too far our of control, we simultaneously create an equivalent mental picture, our physical body fills with stress and tension, and we become spiritually confused. When we experience these uptight feelings, the best thing to do is mentally pause, slow down our thinking, breathe slowly, or pray and ask the spirits to help. Only when we approach the stillness of the mind do we get access to our spiritual guidance system. To be guided, let your mind be still.

Creator, today, let me reside in Your stillness.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Life equips us in many ways for very special purposes. Some never catch the right vision as to why they may be the objects of ridicule or the witnesses of cruelty - while others bear the brunt of many heartaches and still are capable of knowing compassion for those who cause it.

Jesus was such a man - He withstood more than we are able to comprehend, but He asked that His tormentors be forgiven for they knew not what they were doing.

It is our individual decision whether we choose to be one of the throngs of agitators who see only to confirm what everyone else is doing, or we can catch the vision of greater things and walk firmly in paths we believe are right.

To fall into the role of just another face in the crowd is an ill-chosen path, but to lead others to follow is the essence of parasitism - the need to have others be just as nameless and even more dependent.
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March 18 - Daily Feast

Other people have so much happen in their lives before we get to know them that we don't always know how to meet their needs. If they have been hurt, they may box themselves in and our reach is not long enough. But we cannot go back and make up for what someone else has done. All of us have come to the present with some memory, some experience, that has affected us negatively. It would be hard to live in a world of hurt and not be touched by it. But the Cherokee knows that change can take place suddenly to heal life. A Seneca chief had been sick a long time, but he was visited in his dreams by three supernatural beings sent by the Great Spirit, and rose up cured to teach the good message given him by the Master of Life. His people thrived and flourished and developed gifts. So can we. When we seek we find. And it may be by helping others.

~ We were a lawless people, but we were on pretty good terms with the Great Spirit. ~

WALKING BUFFALO

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 18

"The sacred fire used to heat the rocks represents the eternal fire that burns at the center of the universe."

--Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA

Our Sweat Lodge represents the womb of Mother Earth. This is the place of forgiveness. The altar is the place where the Grandfathers are heated. The Sweat Lodge and the altar represent the whole story of the universe. The Sweat Lodge and the ceremonies are sacred. The Great Spirit gave these things to us to help us. He taught us to do the ceremonies in harmony with Mother Earth. We need to know and understand these things.

Great Spirit, let me understand harmony.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

"There is no royal road to anything - One thing at a time, and all things in succession. That which grows slowly endures."
- J.G. Holland

The first lesson we have to learn is that instant success in anything is a fantasy. The overnight success stories we hear about are really products of much preparation.

If we could view a life laid out before us, we could see it is much like a hand sewn quilt, built of many tiny pieces, colors of every hue, fabrics of every kind, and patiently joined together by tiny stitches to give many years of service. Maybe we missed a stitch someplace and it caused a weak place, but the strength of many other stitches will carry it through. Finally a complete quilt has been created and it is strong and lasting.

When we truly want to move ahead we build our lives a quilt block at a time, patiently adding to another part of life until we have the strength and courage to endure.

Take one step at a time, but take it positively forward! The patience will be rewarded. To have a dream come true we must first have a dream. Don't look back. The past is gone, but the future is still in our hands.
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March 19 - Daily Feast

Last autumn's leaves have been dislodged from their wintering places to race north with the wind from the South - only to be turned and blown south again. They drift and dance on end, twirling and falling into deep piles to disintegrate in spring rains. Drifting with the wind is not a habit of nature alone. People with no goals, no aims, drift from one place to another in hopes that fate will put them in the right place at the right time. Fate is simply accepting what comes because nothing has been done to direct thought and action in any other way. If decisions are not made and goals are not set, the world will make them for us. The Cherokee calls this attitude, go na ya, which translates to the same thing as "doing without."

~ The problem with blending the Indian and European cultures is that the Indian is devoted to living and the European to getting. ~

JOHN ROSS McINTOSH

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 19

"There's a deep wound in people - that they have been so cut off from the source of their being, their mother, their Earth Mother."

--Francis Story Talbott II (Medicine Story), WAMPANOAG

When we are connected to the Earth Mother, or when we are clear on our purpose, we will feel connected and safe. We will feel love. When we are disconnected from the Earth Mother, or we don't know who we are or why we are, we will feel pain. It will be similar to a little child who has lost its Mother. We will hurt inside - we will be wounded within. If this happens to the whole community, the people will be very sad and lost. It will seem like there is death in the air. When this happens, it is time for ceremony and reconnection to God and Mother Earth. This is the time of prayer.

Great Mystery, today, help me to stay connected to the Earth and to You, my Creator.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

It has been written that an optimist is someone who can fall ten stories and call out to each floor in passing that everything is okay so far. It has also been said that an optimist is someone who refuses to see things as they really are.

It is far better, the pessimist believes, to look for the worst so as to be pleasantly surprised when things are better than expected. Then, if they are as bad as imagined, the disappointment won't be quite so great.

But this is somewhat like backing into a rose so to avoid seeing the beauty of it, only to find it is an elevator shaft.

There can be no advancement where we expect the worst and believe that going outside the limits of ordinary thinking is only day dreaming. Thinkers, capable of forecasting and predicting answers before the questions arise, are in great demand.

Only the optimist can fill the bill. Only the optimist can dare to believe there are things waiting for discovery and further development.

An optimist questions life the same as a pessimist - the difference is that the optimist knows there is an answer and that the answer can be found. Optimists are aware that the cherries of life have pits, but they are prepared to remove them. Their minds do not dwell on the pits, but on the sweetness of the cherries.

There will be situations that will make us afraid. Fear is a common sense emotion that keeps us from walking in front of a moving car or from jumping off the deep end of anything. And there are periods of natural anxiety when we want too much to perform well, and the butterflies begin to flutter.

Then, there is another kind of fear that is unnatural. It has the ability to possess us and rule over our very lives. It is that "what if" fear that builds nests in our minds and hatches dire images that scare the daylights out of us. It can keep the lights off, the doors bolted, and the windows of our souls locked against the most beautiful things in life.

It is no disgrace in this day to ask for professional help in understanding our fears. Only the very foolish would consider this help a crutch. It is a brave person who admits the need for help and has the courage to go and find it.

They are the pioneers in recognizing our existence as threefold: spirit, mind, and body.
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March 20 - Daily Feast

Someone said the test of courage is not to give up but to rise up and take dominion over melancholy moods. To give in to mood swings from sadness to anger makes finding stable ground even more difficult. In fact, it probably cause more, nu ne lv na, which in Cherokee means mischief or harm, than any other thing. When talking to someone trustworthy does not ease the stress, then writing it can make a world of difference. Writing it to ourselves can bring out many causes for sadness or anger that we didn't know we were harboring. A daily journal has been the source of help in learning what we store away unconsciously, only to come out and whip us at the most unlikely times. It is a way of cleaning house and making corrections in the privacy of our own minds without having to tell the world.

~ Do not hurt your neighbor, for it is not him you wrong but yourself. ~

THE SHAWNEE

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 20

"You have wandered away from your teachings. You must concentrate on your spiritual teachings...Don't be sidetracked."

--Henry Quick Bear, LAKOTA

Why are the Elders always telling us to know The culture and listen to the teachings? When We go off track, why do the Elders say, return to the teachings? The teachings tell us how to live in harmony with the Laws and principles of the Great Spirit. Living means Life, a good life, a happy life. Many of us have grown up without the teachings and the culture, that is why we don't know how to live. To improve on relationships, to treat our children with honor and to respect our Elders, we need to live by the old teachings again.

Great Spirit, today, show me how to live.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

How weak-willed are we at times when we've made a decision and know we must stand on it. It is so much easier to give in to the easy way of doing things.

We are almost a "house divided against itself," and the strain of staying with a decision seems almost our enemy. But we never gain much stature by giving in to ourselves against our better judgment. And we never get anywhere by scattering our efforts.

Making a decision is difficult enough without losing one's determination in following through. Laying down the responsibility is somewhat like warning children to behave themselves and then permitting them to continue to misbehave.

How long has it been since you've proven to yourself that you mean business in carrying out a plan?

A man of wisdom has written that we have firmness of character when we have the ability to say "no" to the wrong as well as to those things which are good but stand in the way of our progress.

Always remember that to want something that is good and right is the blessing. God gave us the ability to desire or we would never have thought of using it. But God also gave us the ability to cry, to feel pain, and the freedom to choose whether we go on or quit.

In our lives we face many decisions. Some are hard to make because we know we must turn our backs upon something that seems harmless at the moment simply because we know it would not be good in the long run.

But there are also decisions that are more challenge than decision. They are the good things that are placed before us, and our will to follow through is tested. When defeat seems sure, then is the time to begin to fight. When others are quitting, then is the time to throw more strength into the battle. Anything worth having is worth working for, and is of lasting value.

Very often these sieges must be made silently and without seeming effort. And yet we know we cannot get something for nothing. We have s service to perform. We can make it a drudge, or we can make it a delightful experience, according to our faith. Be persistent. Unless you do not particularly want your dreams to come true, you can't afford to know the meaning of apathy. You must continually be on the scene with the muscles of your mind toned.

It isn't difficult to have a dream. But it often ceases at that point. The willingness to follow through, the determination to look impossibilities in the eye and trudge on must be practiced before that dream can amount to anything. All along life's road there are those who would discourage you, very often in ignorance, not realizing the effect of their words upon you. It is then that you must muster the strength to believe that theirs is only an opinion while your plans are based on the principle that all good things come to those who hustle while they wait.

It is too bad that they cannot see your invisible companions, persistence, faith, and a worthwhile plan. Smile and walk on.

There is a Divine Being with whom we can place all our obstacles, all our doubts and dears - and then our work begins. We give lovingly of friendship, of any kind of help that we are capable of giving, of positive words and thoughts and understanding.

Give without thought of return. For while we are giving with loving selflessness, life shapes for us our heart's desires.
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March 21 - Daily Feast

Other people have problems the same way we do. If the get loud about them, we do not have to react. Resistance makes difficult times even more difficult to handle. It helps not to threaten but to let things cool down naturally. The Cherokee word for this is, to hi ge se s di, making peace, or peace for the earth. Forgiveness seems to be a necessity for so many things that are wrong. Forgiveness never degrades but elevates, and is not to let someone else get away with something but to free ourselves from an entanglement. It frees us from bitter resentment that can make us sick and can help heal the sickness if it is already there. Eventually, it makes us glad that we did not react, doing and saying things for which we would later be sorry.

~ They fight among themselves, but if you strike at them they will turn on you. ~

LITTLE CROW, 1951

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 21

"The manner with which we walk through life is each man's most important responsibility, and we should remember this with every new sunrise."

--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

Every spiritual person should carry a vision of God's will in every area of their life. One day at a time, each morning at sunrise, we should spend time praying to the Creator. We should say something like, my Creator, this morning I ask you to show me, in terms I can understand, what you have or me to do. By doing this daily, over time, we will develop an unquestionable vision. Each person is responsible for taking the time to do this. It will bring great joy and peace of mind to those warriors who do.

My Creator, give me the vision, today, of what you want me to do.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

At night sometimes the world seems so topsy-turvy and you're so weary of doing things the same old way. Then nothing seems to please....You try desperately for something new and different, something that doesn't seem so much like you. Why? Tonight you are different.

One cannot expect the world to be top side up all the time. Such perfection does not come so easily to human nature. And always there is a search for something new and different. A change of pace....that thought that I don't want to be me today, to think my thoughts and do my daily chores. I want to make a complete change now, to know a whole new way of life. And it is good to leave behind the many daily situations that sometimes stand too closely to be seen clearly, but to be wise enough to know which things should be left behind.

There have been clean sweeps that have left behind the dearest things....and have taken along the same dreary, dark unhappy things of the mind that should have been left behind.

A line from the prayer of serenity is "The wisdom to know the difference...." And wisdom says Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is common sense in an uncommon degree. If one has the wisdom to wait a bit, wait until morning - or several mornings - that uncommon degree of common sense will give us the wisdom to know the difference.
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March 22 - Daily Feast

Everything in the world cannot be judged by one mistake. When we have fallen short or someone seems to have failed us, we can leave it there where it happened. There is no use in stirring old trouble into every new thing we do. There are things that seem to break our hearts, pain that goes on and on. But we can work through. If we are strong and don't let our hands grow weak and slack, our work will be rewarded. We grieve for the loss of things, or persons, ache for what we cannot do, but there is a day when the sun finally shines. We can make it. Time heals more quickly when we decide to let it. It is written that any man can make a mistake, but none but a fool will continue in it. This is a new day; live it fully.

~ The Great Spirit Chief who rules above all will smile upon this land....and this time the Indian race is waiting and praying. ~

CHIEF JOSEPH

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 22

"Everything's so simple, and we make everything so complicated. That's why we're confused."

--Vickie Downey, TEWA/Tesuque Pueblo

The Creator designed a very simple set of Laws for us to follow. If we follow these simple things, we'll be happy. If we don't follow these simple things, our lives become complicated. For example:

Respect Mother Earth

Love one another

Be truthful

Give to your brother and sisters

Be gentle with each other

Be happy

Following these simple Laws will have great rewards.


Great Spirit, let me lead a simple life.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

We often wonder why we must come in contact with some phases of life that seem so unrelated to how we think and plan. It seems we should be able to proceed without stopping all along the way to contend with things that really have little kinship to what we're trying to do.

But no matter how we question and analyze, situations and events continue to present themselves for solving. It takes a great deal of wisdom to know the difference between that which we must do and that which we must refuse serious consideration. This very thin line is the deciding factor in the victory of defeat of any plan.

Like a well written story, sometimes the smallest incident hidden among our experiences can play a very big part at some later time. It is difficult to know just which parts of the puzzle will fall into place to complete a picture we seek.

We must take one step at a time, being sensibly aware of the thoughts we store in our minds. For "as a man thinketh in his heart, so he is." As long as we dwell on all the unnecessary activities we will never have the time for the important things. If we seek the wisdom of the one Creative Mind we have much less chance of being led astray by the glitter of unimportant things.
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March 23 - Daily Feast

The winner carries with him the quiet knowledge that though he has heard every argument, faced every opponent, felt every criticism, there is no turning back and no accepting defeat. An outraged Crow warrior spoke to those who were withholding foods and goods that belonged to his people, "I am not a chief, but I am a warrior. I see that my chiefs all hang their heads down awaiting some reply from their father (the commanding officer), as they do not know what to do nor say. But I know what to do! Hold up your head when you speak to chiefs and warriors, look them in the eye! Goods were promised here and they will go no further!" And the goods went no further. Even a loss would simply be a delay to this Crow. It is a matter of how deeply we believe in what we are doing. Telling a winner that something won't work - just won't work.

~ Hold up your head when you speak to chiefs and warriors! ~

CROW WARRIOR

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 23

"We must relearn how to cry. A strong man cries; it is the weak man who holds back his tears."

--Archie Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA

Indian men and other men should really meditate on this Elder's saying. So many men have been taught it is unmanly to cry, to show emotions or to feel. When people cry, the Elders say there are two types of tears, one type will taste salty; the other type will taste sweet. One is caused by pain, and the other is caused by the release from the pain, or joy tears. A strong man knows himself and knows his relationship with the Great Spirit. The release of tears is a spiritual act. Our bodies are designed to cry. We should honor our bodies and use them as the Creator intended.

Great Spirit, Grandfather, today, teach me to cry.

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'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

All of us have at sometime questioned our normalcy as human beings. We wonder why we did this or that, why we reacted to something so violently, or why we failed to react at all. An American author, Katherine Fullerton Gerould, has written, "The only glory most of us have to hope for is the glory of being normal." And for all our questionable actions sometimes, normal people must be those who have felt not only the high points but the low points of their emotions.

It is not the fact that people run the gamut of their emotions that make them normal, but that they have had the ability to right themselves before they could impose upon the rights of others.

The persons who never lose their tempers, nor shed tears, nor refuse to respond to other people, but stay day after day in light, shallow experience, have never known what it is to come into the center of the calm so richly appreciated.

All of us have made mistakes in behavior, some in ignorance, but more in bad taste. Perfection belongs to a higher Source. It is ours to strive for, and our mistakes are to use in the growing-up process.