Tag: Daily Feast

December 9 – Daily Feast

December 9 – Daily Feast

When the first snowflakes catch on leafless trees and crisp cold wind sweeps our faces, we know winter is in earnest. It turns the bright green canes of the wild rose to gray and sprinkles hickory nuts and walnuts on the path to the woods. The entire landscape seems to be one color – but the variation is so subtle and low-key that it takes a little while to see the green lichen and the misty blue haze that hangs over the tiny stream. Life sometimes appears to be at a standstill, and nothing is beautiful – no color, no shape, no hope. But if we refocus, if we are sincere and we use wisdom, we will move toward a new spring, just as does the season.

~ Whatever the fate of other Indians, the Iroquois might still have been a nations. ~

WA-O-WO-WA-NO-ONK – CAYUA CHIEF

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

December 4 – Daily Feast

December 4 – Daily Feast

Early December has rich earthy color that stands for strength and durability. Hundred-year-old oaks stand guard over a multitude of younger growth and bear the brunt of cold winds and heavy snows. The little creeks hollow out from rushing waters and refill with sand and stones washed down from the hills. Everywhere are signs of longevity and power. Huge boulders tilted on end or covered by moss and lichen harbor the fox and possum. Regardless of how cultivated the land may be in one season, it returns to nature in another. No time shows nature’s raw strength like winter – and few things have to be hardier than people.

~ The Great Spirit and giver of light…..has made the earth and everything in it…. ~

PONTIAC – DELAWARE

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

December 3 – Daily Feast

December 3 – Daily Feast

Much has grieved us, we cannot deny it. Strong as we are, believing as we do, we are still grieved, and we must overcome it. To stop grieving does not mean we no longer care, but that we cannot let this emotion consume us when we need a steady hand and a firm step. It will creep back in unlikely moments to make us cry but time will replace the pain with happy memories. Once we have a flicker of light we can know that grieving is at an end. It can no longer take our whole thought because we have things to do, places to go, and a life to live. This is the time.

~ He orders all things, and He has given us a fine day. ~

RED JACKET – SENECA

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

December 2 – Daily Feast

December 2 – Daily Feast

Some of our greatest victories come when they are least expected and from sources that we have the least faith in. If the most beat-down person keeps the faith and moves ahead just as though he has a written contract with success, he will, even to his own amazement, come out a winner! Most people think there’s not a chance of success without great publicity and promotion – and the right connections. But the best connections are spiritually motivated by faith and caring that far overshadow puny human efforts. The will to win is important – but the Almighty Hand never has a failure.

~ The Great Spirit whispers in my ear! ~

BLACK HAWK – SAC

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

November 29 – Daily Feast

November 29 – Daily Feast

Too much looking back robs us of our natural ability to change things. We are too good at finding reasons for failing, too well trained in using logic to work out knotty decisions. Every thinking, praying human being has access to supernatural answers to his problems, but he cannot use only human reason. And more than anything he must not give excuses or blame others for his own mistakes. Not can we say that if we sit still long enough a miracle will happen. We have to use our minds and our hearts and our spirits – but we must also obey the rules.

~ Some of us seem to have a peculiar intuition. ~

OHIYESA – SANTEE DAKOTA

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

November 27 – Daily Feast

November 27 – Daily Feast

Those who have always been self-sufficient find it going against the grain to accept help from someone else. They have become the caretakers and giving over that responsibility is clearly unacceptable. But they can come to realize that leaning on someone else can be a sign of strength. Not everyone can do it – not everyone is willing. It takes a special strength to ask for help. But who knows what part this plays in the healing process. A time can come to show kindness and to be cooperative and to make it easy on someone else. This may be the proving time – the time that gives us a new understanding and compassion.

~ My brothers, a power which I cannot resist crowds me down the ground. I need help. ~

CHIEF STANDINGBEAR – PONCA

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

November 26 – Daily Feast

November 26 – Daily Feast

The Tsa la gi (Cherokee) sense change. He doesn’t take it from the world not does he hear it from a voice comes from a man. But when he stands by the flowing stream with arms outstretched, the voices speak. The wind has lifted high above, barely touching the limbs of autumn trees, but it has in it a voice that calls us to be ready for change. It is not an imagined thing, not a lower-spirit voice, but a true message from the Great Spirit to stop looking at hardship and fear, to prepare. A spirit of firmness comes in this call, but it is sweetness as well – a sweetness that heals all the wounds of centuries. It asks all the people to stand together in the true sense, and then they will never fail.

~ Remember! I have warned you to beware…. ~

PACHGANTSCHILHILAS – DELAWARE, 1700s

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

November 22 – Daily Feast

November 22 – Daily Feast

Don’t let the night make you afraid. As children, our e li is (grandmother) was conservative with oil for lamps and it was a joyful time when family and friends gathered on the porch or sat on the grass and told stories after night. It was not uncommon to hear the high whine of mosquitoes. “Smudges” or small fires were laid to smoke a lot and keep the mosquitoes at bay. Someone told snake stories or ghost stories, someone sang, someone related funny tales – but the night made it possible. Shy visitors were secure; the caring and kinship melded friendships together and children finally fell asleep on comfortable laps. Neighbors drifted away; they would happily come again-when it was night.

~ Give us wisdom to guide us on the path of truth. ~

SOSE-HA-WA – SENECA

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

November 21 – Daily Feast

November 21 – Daily Feast

Never say to yourself, “This may not work.” Give support to whatever you try. You see, it hears you. It accepts your decision even before you begin. Always tell your work that it is good and that it will serve a purpose long after it is finished. To tell it anything else is calling it by unseemly names, names that oppose its good success. Call life by its beautiful names. Tell it how strong and honorable and good it is. It is your life and your voice, and you have the right to use them together for every good purpose.

~ There was never a question as to the supremacy of an evil power over and above the power of good. ~

STANDING BEAR – SIOUX

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

November 20 – Daily Feast

November 20 – Daily Feast

Always take into account what your mind has in it. What of the world have you taken in and stored in all the little crevices and avenues of your mind and thinking? Guard your mind, for out of it comes what you think is possible for you. If you have stored defeat and rejection, those are the only things you have to draw on. Our voices record everything we say within our minds and hearts. Blessing or swear words, sarcasm or snappy cynicism, all are there, and all have a part in ruling life. This is the hardest part to sweep out and control, but it can be done – and it is better than storing trash.

~ Neither anger nor fury shall be found lodging in their minds. ~

IROQUOIS – CIRCA 1570

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

November 16 – Daily Feast

November 16 – Daily Feast

Things have a way of growing out of bounds in the dark of thought. But we can control them by easing them out gently, the way steam escapes the kettle. The worst thing is to feed more fuel into our emotions than we can handle. Turn off the heat and the pressure will ease. Lay blame aside – especially self-blame. You can’t do any good if you are dwelling on what went wrong. Forgive yourself and others. Nothing removes the blocks like forgiving. This is survival time and no injustice should be harbored. Make a new beginning and don’t stop until it is done. You will know when that is.

~ The Great Spirit has heard me, and he knows I have spoken the truth. ~

KEOKUK – SAC AND FOX

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

November 15 – Daily Feast

November 15 – Daily Feast

Walking in a garden is little different from walking into a room full of people. Color, shape, size, all play a part – and the more varied, the greater the interest. Only a few dominate the garden, and they are not always the prettiest. Some are herbs and serve as good medicine, while others stand in pretty little groups and dance in the breezes. Each of us is a part of the garden. Do we add or detract? Are we fragrant and do we require sunlight or can we survive in the shade? Do we need constant attention or are we perennial – faithful to our place and doing our best to bloom?

~ Two branches of the ancient Cherokee family….it has become essential to the general welfare that a union should be formed. ~

SEQUOYAH – CHEROKEE TALKING LEAVES

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

November 13 – Daily Feast

November 13 – Daily Feast

Brilliantly colored flashing graphics, moving, walking, and yelling salespeople, and too much real-life drama makes us sigh and give thanks for a television remote control. We forget we have another remote control right in our thinking. We can change channels – even eliminate crazy pictures that try to fix themselves in our minds. Good music helps to soothe out the wrinkles in our turbulent thinking. Wasn’t it Saul that called for a musician when he needed to think or pray? Give yourself credit for taking control – for choosing well – and watch things turn around.

~ Yonder sky that has wept tears of compassion upon my people for centuries untold, and that which to us appears changeless and eternal, may change. ~

SEATTLE – SUQUAMISH

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

November 10 – Daily Feast

 

November 10 – Daily Feast

For those who have a wait-and-see attitude it is more wait than see. Then they claim it is better to not expect anything than to be disappointed. These people build the same mental images – but they see nothing. Being able to see in the spirit is as necessary as having a blueprint to build a house. The details need to be filled in, finally coming to that completed picture – so vivid and clear that it must come into being. Anything we touch or use was first an image, an idea, in someone’s mind. Seeing it and sensing it and loving it is writing an order to receive it. Mental images should never lack from a poor consciousness. Even if it seems impossible, fill it in. Ideas often have miracles of their own.

~ Our fathers gave us many laws, which they learned from their fathers. These laws were good. ~

IN-MUT-TOO-YAH-LAT-LAT – NEZ PERCE

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

 

 

November 8 – Daily Feast

November 8 – Daily Feast

Listen, if you do not care about yourself, who is going to? If you are not acquainted with your own spirit, who will be? Listen, there are secrets in your heart that you have refused to hear. There is strength in your mind and in your soul that you have not used. Who told you that you would never amount to anything? Did you say it, or did you hear it said? It is a lie. You see, Spirit is the only One that knows you. Has He said you won’t make it? Never, because He knows you can. If you will only believe in yourself, if you will only take the initiative and move one step, He will move two. All you have to do is to care about yourself and your Creator.

~ I have nothing bad in my breast at all; everything is all right there. ~

SATANTA – KIOWA CHIEFTAN

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

November 4 – Daily Feast

November 4 – Daily Feast

At one time or another we have watched someone and wondered how long it would be before we reached their stage of distress. We have been made to believe that if someone in the family has had a problem that we must have it as well. Even with our tendencies to be like someone else, we are still individuals and what we see should teach us to avoid the same pitfalls they had. More is decided in our minds and spirits than we can imagine. We have the creative power of speech, the determination and the grit to stop falling because someone else falls. Deny every thought and every suggestion that we have to be the victims of anything.

~ We were becoming like them, hypocrites and liars, adulterous lazy drones, all talkers, and no workers. ~

MA-KE-TAI-ME-SHE-KIA-KIAK – SAUK AND FOX CHIEF

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

October 31 – Daily Feast

October 31 – Daily Feast

Few things are mind-and-spirit-adjusting like putting our hand to a job that has been waiting too long. The bigger the job, the better our concentration. Work keeps the hands busy and frees the mind from raw nerves and injured feelings. A time to talk will come – if it is needed at all. Sometimes busy hands like walking feet can do away with things thought to be unsolvable. Decide to do a thing that no one else can do – a specific move away from pain. It can set the wheel to turn – maybe slowly at first – but soon you’ll be on top again.

~ If white man wants to live in peace with Indian he can live in peace. ~

CHIEF JOSEPH – NEZ PERCE

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

October 30 – Daily Feast

October 30 – Daily Feast

In retrospect, we have ignored common sense in favor of doing what we wanted to do. We wish we had not done it, but we said what we wanted to say, spoke out when it would have been better to stay quiet – we have overruled our common sense. Looking back again, when did we get off track? What little thing stung us into action? If we learn to hear the voice of wisdom we can overcome our foolishness. Wisdom never lets us down, but ignoring it will put away from us the best friend we can have.

~ I am tired of talk that comes to nothing. ~

CHIEF JOSEPH – NEZ PERCE

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

October 27 – Daily Feast

October 27 – Daily Feast

Unwittingly we have been parts of broken relationships, discrimination, poverty, disease, and overbearing personalities. These things exist, and as long as someone endures it and someone does it, it will go on. So learn why these things happen if you want to overcome them. Learn and then don’t stay where they are happening, but go on to better things. This definitely can be done. Fear and helplessness are the usual reasons we stay in bad situations – but from those two things many other evils begin. Instead, say to yourself daily that you are able, you are intelligent, and you are protected. It expands your consciousness to stand up and shake off everything that has been degrading.

~ A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong. ~

BLUE JACKET – SHAWNEE CHIEF

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

October 25 – Daily Feast

October 25 – Daily Feast

At one time, most of us thought we knew it all, and later on, we wished we had kept quiet until we had learned something. Discovering the depth of one thing makes us think we have tapped a reserve of wisdom and knowledge. What we really learned was how much there is left to learn. We want to know; it is our nature. But most rebel at being taught, especially the things of the spirit. What we learn should always be carefully examined – but never with the intellect alone and always with the spirit. Life, itself, is the spirit and it should never be allowed to suffer malnutrition.

~ The roots of the tree of his life have not yet grasped the rock and soil. ~

STANDING BEAR – LAKOTA

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