Tag: Cherokee Feast of Days

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for March 10th

‘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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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

March 10 – Daily Feast

March 10 – Daily Feast

The more stress we have the less we like other people – and ourselves. A little pressure is sufficient. Stress can be productive if it is something we like doing. But when we can no longer ka no gi a, enjoy and sing about life, we need to reevaluate the direction we are going. It is impossible to withdraw from every problem, but neither can we go on without some relief. Being responsible is a natural part of life – very necessary to living well and being contented. To find a happy medium is to center ourselves where peace and answers can be found. It does not come from the noise and complaints of the world – but from that secret place of harmony and strength within the heart. It is a place that must be added to and kept harmonious, for it gives us poise and renewal when we need it.

~ Once you have heard the meadowlark and caught the scent of fresh-plowed earth, peace cannot escape you. ~

SEQUICHIE

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 9 – Daily Feast

March 9 – Daily Feast

We are not always granted the privilege of going back and doing things differently. If we were, could we? We might if we had new knowledge. Otherwise, we would do the same thing we did before. It was all we knew. Every race has had its Trail of Tears, in fact, every individual has suffered and agonized over what he might have done. Gentle people hope that by cooperation things will work for all concerned. It isn’t in the hearts of the gentle to think that others do not have their same heartfelt ways. But challenges in the present times are sufficient without adding the past. If we know so much now, we need to use it. We can, sometimes, project ahead by looking back objectively to tap some reserve of knowledge. If we lack such inner knowledge, if we lack wisdom, we need to ask. And then we listen for the still small voice of direction.

~ Chief Ross led in prayer and when the bugle sounded and the wagons started rolling many of the children waved their little hands good-bye to their mountain homes. ~

PRIVATE JOHN BURNETT

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 8 – Daily Feast

March 8 – Daily Feast

Nature has her indecisive moments. A ma ga nu go gv, the season when new life springs up, may come early with its wildflowers and blossoming trees. She is known for her adolescent behavior, all smiles and flowers in her hair, only to be in tears in a few minutes. We think, this is it, we will never change our opinion. No, we will not be moved, we will cling to this one idea and time cannot erode any part of it. There can be no parting with this idea, nothing and no one can make us think differently. Spring may hint that she is here – so we can relax. But she is never adamant that she will not change. It is only the human being that claims such powers. But the power that keeps us moving and changing and becoming better is not our power but Galun lati.

~ We will never let our hold to this land go for we say to you that our father who sits in heaven gave it to us. ~

AITOOWEYAH, THE STUD, AND KNOCK DOWN

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 7 – Daily Feast

March 7 – Daily Feast

The first thing in the morning when our feet touch the floor, our feelings begin to feed us impressions. Not only do they review our situation in a few seconds, they decide if this is a good day or if it should be one of anxiety. This is the precise time to hush feelings and paint the day the way we want it to be – not to be fed from the negative side. We tell the wrong impressions that they are not acceptable, that we feel different than we have in the past. This is a new day and we are free and happy, able to change what needs to be changed, to do what needs to be done. There are times when we must go against our own feelings and dictate what we will have, shaping and reshaping the hours as we see fit.

~ When I make peace, it is a long and lasting one. There is no end to it. ~

SANTANA

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Haven’t you heard someone say, after experiencing something either good or bad, “I knew it was going to be that way.” And perhaps the conviction was very strong that certain conditions would take a definite turn. But much of the time we say it not out of conviction, but resignedly, agreeing beforehand that something will be a certain way, and usually with dire overtones.

It used to be believed that we had no power to control anything coming to us. We were mere victims of circumstances, almost like stones waiting to be kicked aside. But we were taught, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.”

We must not be so presumptuous as to believe we know everything there is to know about the workings of the mind. But we attract a great many of our problems simply by dwelling on them in our thoughts.

Premonition, or “knowing” things are going to be a certain way, is merely giving us a little time to head off the trouble. Such things should be a challenge, not an accepted rule. “Know” better until you believe it into conviction and into being.

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

March 6 – Daily Feast

March 6 – Daily Feast

Remember when you do anything, there will be someone that will find fault, no matter what you do. The pleasure of an unhappy person is to find something wrong in others to salve his own discontent. The Cherokees believe that tests sharpen their wit and help them a s qua dv, win or triumph over opposite powers. It would be beneath them to accept criticism as something they must overcome. The Cherokees flick it off like to is, pesky mosquitos. We all try to understand our differences of opinion, to care what effect we cause in other people. But the bane of anyone’s existence is ignorance – our own. We want more than anything to correct what we know is wrong. And what we find wrong in others may be a reflection of our own wrongs.

~ May the white man and the Indian speak truth to each other today. ~

BLACKFOOT

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

So you missed an opportunity! And they say that opportunity knocks only once – but, only if you believe it! Opportunity has been known to pound on the door and go unnoticed, and it has been known to whisper and be heard. It is all according to how hard we require opportunity to knock before we recognize it.

Our awareness of opportunity will reveal to us how many times it presents itself; so subtle, it may not be recognized by the casual eye. And usually it seems to be completely unprofitable to us personally. More often than not it is service to others without thought of return. It is humility, a willingness to accept the most humble beginnings. It is joy in finding communication with others and finding a kinship with them.

Have you heard of an opportunity fund? Some call it saving for a rainy day. Rainy days can be lovely, too. A rainy day can be an opportunity to get things done. But an opportunity can be any day, rain or shine.

Do you often have the opportunity to speak to your neighbor? It seems to happen too infrequently these days.

The most fun we can have comes when we’ve the opportunity to squelch an ugly rumor. You know, “curst be the tongue whence slanderous rumor, withering friendship’s faith….” Sometimes a little friendship does wither, but if it really amounts to anything it will survive.

What a splendid opportunity to sit quietly and mentally forgive with such depth and joy as to start life anew. There is no greater blessing, no greater opportunity fund.

American editor A.E. Dunning writes, “Great opportunity come to all, but many do not know they have met them. The only preparation to take advantage of them, is simple fidelity to what each day brings.”

A missed opportunity may well be another opportunity to prepare for a bigger and better one!

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

March 5 – Daily Feast

March 5 – Daily Feast
It is sad when our children have not been able to reply on us to build their self-esteem. The Cherokees call it qa lv quo di. Even those of us that have come a long way have memories that need a loving touch. Parents teach only what they know to teach. But we are not set forever in one direction. We reach an age when we must teach ourselves. We learn to forgive and to understand that when we get to the fork in the road we will know the right way. Why go the wrong way because someone before us did? If our self-esteem has been damaged, feeding it more pity and more ill-treatment is not healing it. Criticism is passed to us the same way blue eyes and dark hair are inherited. But criticism can be changed and replaced with love. This is a decision that changes our lives – and those who follow as well.

~ Civilized people depend too much on man-made printed pages. I turn to the Great Spirit’s book which is the whole of his creation. ~

TATNGA MANI

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

There are very few days when we have control of our time. No matter what our schedules may be, there is always a change taking place that keeps something from happening when it is supposed to happen. And when the day is ended and our schedules have no been met, then it begins to drag on our spirits.

Soon we become so wound up in the problems of the moment that the delights of our souls drift away and become a part of the mist of “someday”. Someday I will get to do what I want to do. Someday when this necessary work is finished – and is it possible that the things we believe to be so necessary are really robbers of our lives? Do we spend too much time with the menial tasks and allow our creativity – the ability to bring newness into our lives – to dry up and become nonexistent?

William Blake called this within us “God.” One of the greatest poets ever to live, he believed that if we keep alive our ability to see and feel the beauty of life, our menial tasks will become easy and the way successful.

Yesterday is only a dream, tomorrow only a vision, but today – we live. If we live as we should, our yesterdays will be dreams of happiness, and our tomorrow’s will be visions of hope.

Nothing is so sad as the man who spends all his time today judging tomorrow by his experiences of yesterday. He has a vision, but his faith does not support him to pursue it. If some great stroke of good fortune should overtake him, he will be all ready to go, but he doesn’t really expect it to happen. So today he sits waiting for the world to change for him, never guessing that he is the one who must change.

No one is so misled as the woman who has such a busy schedule that she hasn’t time to listen to her children. She expects to take the time to play with them – someday. But it is today that the bridges must be built from the soul to the body to the spirit. It isn’t something built from a quick kiss or a smart smack in the right place, but from daily communion and understanding.

Today is the very life of life when the best things are nearest – breath in our nostrils, light in our eyes, flowers at our feet, duties at our hand, and the path of God before us.

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

March 4 – Daily Feast

March 4 – Daily Feast

Few things that count in life are taken by great strides. Little by little, step by step, we inch forward. Great progress in a short time is so often short-lived and gives us the wrong idea of how things work. We build a consciousness, use good judgment, di gu go at nv in Cherokee, to move slowly and with awareness. But as we build, it is important to override the negatives that try to lodge in what we are doing. Our thinking is like a garden that needs to be cultivated. And our talking is even more important. The two go I tsu la, hand in hand, and what happens is a direct result of what we have dwelled on for many seasons. But it is in our power to make corrections and edge out trouble – little by little, but very surely.

~ Certain small ways and observances sometimes have connection with large and more profound ideas. ~

STANDING BEAR

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 3 – Daily Feast

March 3 – Daily Feast

A great man once said that a human soul may be thought of as seeking a creative outlet. If that outlet is clear and free, all is well. But if the channel is clogged with fuss and worry, we can forget the creativity. Even in quiet, we can be in a frenzy. Quiet desperation, Thoreau called it. True silence comes from directing thought to quiet places and still waters. If we allow our minds to drift toward something that could go wrong, then it steals our peace and clogs our creative capacity. Sit quietly and think of softly flowing water, gentle breezes, and the call of the whippoorwill. Reflect on the joy of thinking freely, of unlimited vitality – and don’t tell yourself that it couldn’t possibly happen.

~ The American Indian is skillfully artistic, a refined sense that springs from deep wells of ancient vision. ~

MURPHY

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

In those moments when we quietly sit with mind centered on the fact that God is only good, and that no situation devious or twisted in appearance, has any power except that which we give it by dwelling on how terrible it is – then, there is hope.

If we can become quiet enough in our own minds to know God is good, it will produce one of those times of sweet serenity that settles like an invisible veil between us and our troubles. In those moments of growth and faith will come peace that passes all understanding.

It is good to live an active life, but some of life’s most productive moments are not when the mind and body are hurled through hectic hours at a furious pace. Life offers many tender and beautiful times that demand nothing and give only a quiet calm that will never come in pill form.

Contrary to the belief in any power except God’s, there is a happy medium. It does not come simply by demanding, and there are times when it can be touched on only so briefly. But even in our sore travails there is a time when life finds balance and we live in harmony with God’s laws.

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

February 19 – Daily Feast

February 19 – Daily Feast

We all discover at some time or other that it is painful to love. Caring about something, about someone, about some place is a great joy. It does make us vulnerable, easy to get to, easy to touch, and hard-pressed to hide our emotions. Some bit of us wants desperately to hide what we feel for fear that it will be taken the wrong way. But even more, we are afraid of revealing more than we are willing to share. A reserve of our own thoughts and feelings keeps us from depleting all that we are, keeps us from giving away that part of us which generates life. It keeps us able to love and care deeply. Despite all the pain that goes with caring, we would not have it any other way.

~ The earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall see the results of that love. ~

SITTING BULL

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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February 18 – Daily Feast

February 18 – Daily Feast

There’s no wisdom in judging too quickly. The overall picture may be an illusion and what we think we see is in our own minds. Our judgment is poor when we get emotional and fall in love with someone, or call him bad before we know. Silence is a blessing until we are stable and have our perspective in balance. It is true that we have to judge sometime, but a little time can give us wisdom, which comes slowly.

~ The more I consider the condition of the white men, the more fixed becomes my opinion that they lose much by subjecting themselves to what they call laws and regulations. ~

TOMOCHICHI – CREEK CHIEF

“A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II” by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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February 17 – Daily Feast

February 17 – Daily Feast

Touching the earth is a lovely thing, a feeling of once again finding our beginnings, a knowing that this place where we stand, whether to walk or plow or plant, is something created for us, for the pulse of the earth slows our own and tranquilizes our confusion. The Cherokees believe that seeing the sky in all its limitless depths stirs our imaginations and stretches our awareness of how much simple beauty is provided for us. We can see that bitterness lasts only as long as we allow it, but we have reached beyond the ceiling of our minds and are as unlimited as the sky. As currents of air stir the fragrance of flowers, we may not be able to see all things but we sense the influence and know that life is ours to enjoy. It comes by Divine heritage.

~ Ka wat lee OS, tat gat he. Peace for the Cherokees, Oh America, peace for the Cherokees. ~

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’

‘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.”

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

February 16 – Daily Feast

February 16 – 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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‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’
 
What we take for granted someone else thinks is beautiful. What we want to get rid of is someone else’s treasure. Sometimes we stand so close to something dear that we cannot see that it is dear. Our lack of awareness robs us of what we assume is ours forever. We have many eyes, but most are closed or glazed over. The eyes of the mind and spirit perceive far more than our physical eyes will ever see. The eyes of our hearing detect sound but also feelings and attitude – and the music of he sphere. There is a word in the Cherokee language, agowhtvhdi, which means sight. When we touch something we not only feel but we also see the gentleness or the hardships, the depths and the heights. No, we are never blind except when we close ourselves off and deny the very Spirit of Life.

~ Give heed, my child, lift up your eyes, behold the One who has brought you life.~CEREMONIAL SONG

 
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler