Daily Feast - September

[bluidkiti]

September 1st - September 7th



NINE
So' nali

NUT MONTH
Dulu stinee'

AMAZING GRACE
By John Newton
CHEROKEE VERSION

Ooh nay thia and,
Hee oo way gee'
E gah gwoo yah hay ee.
Naw gwoo Joe sah,
We you low say
E gah gwoo yah ho nah.

September 1 - Daily Feast

Our pride can rob us of the help we need - and the other person of the chance to do a good deed. Why is it so hard to accept help without feeling something very close to anger? Is it because we think we have not done as well as the other person or do we feel too great for self-sufficiency? When we need help we have not fallen short. If we have done everything we can to help ourselves then we should consider it the other person's time to give. If we are made to feel awkward for needing help, we can remember the feeling when it comes our time to help out. Pride is an admission of weakness and gratitude is a sign of strength. We can receive graciously and we can give the same way.

~ We should not despair of once more enjoying the blessings of peace in our new homes. ~

JOHN ROSS - CHEROKEE CHIEF

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 1

"Everyone has a song. God gives us each a song. That's how we know who we are. Our song tells us who we are."

--Charlie Knight, UTE

As we start to walk the Red Road and as we develop ourselves as Warriors, a song will come to us. This song is given to each of us from the Great Spirit. Whenever we sing this song, we will receive courage and strength not only for ourselves but if we sing this song for others, it will also help them. The song will give us power and make us feel really good. The song will make us see life in a sacred way. If you don't have your song yet, ask the Creator in prayer if He will give you your song. With the song comes a responsibility - the responsibility to act and conduct oneself as a Warrior according to your song.

Oh my Creator, let me live my song. Let my song honor Your way of life. Let me sing my song each day. At the end of today, let my song tell people who I am. I am a beautiful child of the Creator.

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"THINK on THESE THINGS"
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Do you remember the interesting story of the lion and the mouse in Aesop's Fables? The lion could have crushed the mouse but was merciful and let it go free. A year later the lion became entangled and the mouse nibbled its way through the net to set the lion free.

It is a dangerous thing to wade through other people's feelings, burning our bridges and believing we will never need them again. The saddest persons on earth must be those who find they have tried to destroy the only one who can help them.

The smallest and seemingly most insignificant has a purpose in this world, and it isn't for us to judge what that purpose is. We have enough to do in finding our own.

As in the fable, we must remember, "Few are so small or weak, I guess....but may assist us in distress....nor shall we ever....if we're wise.....the meanest of the least despise."



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September 2 - Daily Feast

Everything has a reason. We may have to wait a while to understand, because much of what we see is a puzzle with all its pieces strewn about. The whole thing is there but in our present condition we do not comprehend the first thing about fitting the right pieces together. It is going to take some time. Maybe our dullness is necessary to keep us from making foolish moves. It is better to stand and let life creep back in and our blood to flow normally before we begin again. We still do not know the reason for something but we can handle the time better and we recover our sense more quickly.

~ We are all Seminoles here together. We want no long talk; we wish to have it short and good. ~

CHIEF JOHN HICKS - SEMINOLE, 1829

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 2

"I remember Dawson (No Horse) said, 'Once you say your prayers, don't worry about them. If you worry about them, they'll just fade away.'"

--Chuck Ross, LAKOTA

Today I need to remember You are everywhere. I need to remember how much You love me. I need to know, Grandfathers, that You are always listening. Today I need to know how much You care. Today I will remember the advice of the Elders. "Say your prayers and then don't worry - know that the Great One has heard you." It's so much easier to do this, Grandfather, when I feel connected to You.

My Creator, allow me this day to feel your presence. Let me walk the path of life today and talk to You many times. Give me faith, my Grandfather.

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"THINK on THESE THINGS"
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Regret is something everyone has, but no one can afford to keep. Being remorseful is commendable when we should be sorry for wrong behavior, but to live with regret is to add to it day by day. There are those who are unable to admit they have ever been wrong. But there are more who carry with them so much regret they are bowed in spirit.

Thomas Moore, the Irish poet, once said, "Remorse is beholding heaven and feeling hell," but perhaps just knowing heaven can exist makes regret more hellish. And so often it renders the regretful almost powerless to lift themselves out of their predicament.

But there is forgiveness! A daily vow or affirmation can take us a step further in lifting ourselves above the things that cause regret. And if we've settled down in the middle of unhappiness to enjoy our lot in life, then, moment by moment, inch by inch, we shall overcome that, too!


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September 3 - Daily Feast

The need for security can create an uneasy nest. Where do we go? What do we do? But the most unholy of questions is, "Where did I fail?" Change does not mean failure. It means upheaval and it means trial and effort, but it does not mean failure. Anger about change means we have not thought it through, we have not looked beyond the limits, beyond the perimeter of what is familiar. The biggest problem is that the ones who instigate it are not the ones that make the change. But those who make the change will eventually find it was the best thing that ever happened. It brought out new strengths and new thinking and the knowledge that security is not in other people - but in ourselves.

~ Day and night cannot dwell together. ~

SEATTLE - SUQUAMISH CHIEF

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 3

"Once you have achieved this oneness, when you talk, God talks; when you act, God acts."

--Chuck Ross, LAKOTA

In my innermost self, I know this to be true. I know of this oneness. The more I am free of doubt, jealousy, judgment, selfishness, anger, the closer I am to this oneness. When I am right with the Creator, nothing can touch me. When I am right with the Creator I always say the right things. When I am right with the Creator, my thoughts are always good. When I am right with the Creator, my actions are always good.

Great Spirit, remove from me those things that block me from You. Allow me this day to experience the oneness.

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"THINK on THESE THINGS"
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Have you noticed how hardheaded we are about clinging to the way we think something should be done? If it worked once, we think it should again, and perhaps it does. There are proven methods of getting successful results in many things. But every so often we try to use the same procedure, follow the same general pattern we've used before, only this time it doesn't work.

How we pound our fists against the stone wall! Insisting all the time that there used to be a door in exactly that spot. Who move the door? Frequently circumstances are to blame. But placing the blame is not the important thing. Finding the way is important.

The way may not be marked plainly, and we have to blaze a new trail, find a new method. But the hardest part of finding that new method is in admitting we need one. The first and most important step is in changing our idea of how it should be done. As soon as we have accepted this fact the mind has a reserve of experiences and knowledge that will hurry in to help. But only after we've admitted the need for it.


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September 4 - Daily Feast

Some of us have used our minds like, u yo - leaving the lids off the can so that it collects, u yo, which is Cherokee for garbage. No wonder we have so little self-reliance, we learn so little from our experiences. Each of us needs to keep a close eye on everything we do. This is a whole new world without observance of many rules. We used to know what was safe and what should be watched, but the times have changed and many of the so-called rules have been rewritten. Good things and good people still exist and we should be a part of it. But it is not wise to leave ourselves open to every passing bit of trash.

~ The time was when our Father, who lives above the clouds, loved our fathers, who lived long ago, and His face was bright, and He talked with our fathers. ~

WASHAKIE - SHOSHONE

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 4

"The Elders say that if you want something good, you have to suffer for it."

--Chuck Ross, LAKOTA

People sometimes have a misconception of sacrifice. This is a strong word for Indian people. On the other side of sacrifice is another whole world. During sacrifice, our beliefs are tested. We may all have good beliefs but if you test a good belief, then you get real beliefs. Real beliefs make new people; real beliefs make new self images. Real beliefs allow determination and desires and faith to come true. Good is always available to us but we often can't bring it within until we let go of the old ways. We let go of the old ways by suffering. Suffering is only letting go of things that don't work anymore. On the other side of suffering is a new world.

Creator, help me to let go of old ways. Let my old thoughts and beliefs be abandoned. Every change is preceded by struggle. Help me go through the struggle today.

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"THINK on THESE THINGS"
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

It has been said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. But it is even truer that there is no hell more furious than those human beings who feel scorn within themselves. It is natural but painful for those who do not know the meaning of love to find fault and grief within their own existence. Unable to accept the blame for their actions, there is a continual search for the cause in other people.

How can we tell what point in life others may have reached in their development? We can only see and sense the pain that some carry while they learn the way. If it is impossible to get along with them, we should get along without them, but condemning them will never turn the tide.

Understanding of others and of ourselves has been a great human need for all time. The fact that we do not look with a critical eye, pecking away in constant irritation at another's faults, but give some sign of friendliness, some patience for rebellious spirits, may serve as the turning point for that spirit. And to try for such understanding does no harm for the one who makes the effort.


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September 5 - Daily Feast

On this long list of important things, is this present worry anywhere near the top? It could be, but most likely it isn't. In a split second fear can shuffle our priorities into a jumbled mess until we see it all as one big hurdle. Stop and ask if this is fact or fear. Fact can even be changed, but fear has a way of taking our deepest fear and molding it into a monster. We have a flair for begging monsters to stay away when we should be calling them cowards and shriveled and gone. We have the authority to do it - and it works because words have the power of life and death!

~ I want to tell you this, because I believe if you know it you will correct the evil. ~

LITTLE RAVEN - ARAPAHO

'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 5

"Decisions that have been made for the last couple of centuries have been decisions made without the presence of a real God....from the vision, not of God, but of money."

--Tom Porter, MOHAWK

As we view the world today, it's easy to see the people are off track. We are no longer living in harmony. Focusing on the material only leads us from the path of the Creator. We must now pray for ourselves and the people in a pitiful way. We must be humble and ask the Great Spirit to intervene because if we don't, our children will continue to have troubles. They are acting out our behavior as adults. Today is a good time to start. We need to get the spiritual way back into our lives. We need to focus on the spiritual.

My Creator, help me to focus on the spiritual way.

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"THINK on THESE THINGS"
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

"Though we speak with the tongues of men and angels and give our bodies to be burned, if we are irritable or hard to live with, it all accounts for nothing," wrote Margaret Widdemer.

Wouldn't it be a blessing to ourselves and to others if we could be as gentle and considerate in temper as we expect others to be? It is not a good thing to keep pent up the emotions that rule us so continually, but neither is it good to be too quick and too constantly blowing off steam.

It may serve as a tension reliever to us, but it can soon ruin our relationships with others. And without our realizing it, we can soon become chronic complainers.

Worry, physical ailments and weariness can cause a short temper that we think others should understand. And most have a way of knowing if that is the case, but prolonged impositions on other people will wear that tolerance very thin. It takes two to have an argument, but it takes only one to start it.

The need to forgive and to be forgiven should never be overlooked. To pass over a disagreement quickly without thought to the damage we've done can take the shine off any friendship. There can be no merit in forgetting if we cannot first forgive.

There are two voices in this world that will be forever unpopular. One is the voice of self-pity, the other the voice that yells all the time. One declares itself to be the victim of great injustice, the other yells to demand justice.

Those who believe themselves to be the victims of injustice - those who believe they are meant to suffer - will always find conditions to prove they are right.

And those who yell, "Look what I've sacrificed," and always with the theme, "What I've tried to do for you," have slowed another's progress and stopped their own.

True victims of circumstances are easily recognized, and do not care to be noticed as such. And those who yell their merits have received their rewards, so there aren't any others.

Both have their attentions turned inward, but to the sorrow of most.....their voices are not.


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September 6 - Daily Feast

We've known extremes. We have pushed beyond common sense and we have paid a price for it. Most of us know what is good for us, but we allowed ourselves to be influenced where we should have stood our ground. This is true even of the little things - though often the results are not little at all. Things like eating and drinking and talking too much, these things are not bad in particular, but so easily overdone. There's no obvious stopping place so we are well past the stop sign before we know it is there. Education? Awareness? Group understanding? These things may help, but a thorough adjustment in the soul and spirit is the only lasting answer.

~ My Great Father.....told me that fire and water were alike, and that we cannot live without either of them. ~

LONE WOLF - KIOWA

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 6

"We all form self-images and much of our behavior is pretty well determined by how we feel about ourselves."

--Eunice Baumann-Nelson, Ph.D., PENOBSCOT

There is a cycle of building beliefs called the self talk cycle. Our self talk builds our self image and our self image determines our behavior, our actions, and our self worth - how we feel about ourselves. If we want to change the way we feel about ourselves we need to change our self talk. We need to build ourselves up. We need to talk to ourselves in a kind, positive, uplifting, good way. We need to talk to ourselves about the good things that are happening and know that we are worthy and expect abundance.

Oh Great Spirit, today help me to know myself. Help me to see the joy, kindness, strength and beauty that I am.

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"THINK on THESE THINGS"
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

True forgiveness could be described as a divine amnesty where we receive a pardon from the unworthy things we've done, and have another chance to prove our worth. Forgiveness is something we must give in order to receive. And we have a tendency to linger over old grudges, using them to bolster our reasons for not forgiving. But we cannot return to the past, not can we change one whit of anything that happened then. We cannot make up for resentments we've caused in others, no more than they can make up for ours.

To forgive is divine. God is above punishment, but we are not. It is we, not God, who punish by taking things into our own hands and making them work for our own selfish reasons. We demand punishment by hanging on to painful past experiences that produce self-pity. We are the ones who blame God's will for our illnesses, our poverty, our lack of friends. But we are wrong, for there is a moment of truth when we face ourselves and know that we are the guilty.

And there is a time such as William Wordsworth wrote about, "That blessed mood, in which the burden of the mystery, in which the heavy and weary weight of all this unintelligible world, is lightened".....because we've been forgiven.


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September 7 - Daily Feast

Many weak excuses come to mind to give us a right to self-pity - we don't feel well, we haven't slept in a week, or we simply don't know what others expect of us. All these things can be true and all have a devastating effect, but we could have said we are in the midst of a pity celebration. Mind games tell us we need an excuse to keep from being overwhelmed with obligations. We don't need any excuse to say we are simply not up to the challenges at this time. If people want to be offended it is their privilege, but right now self honesty and rest are more important.

~ I have no father or mother; I am alone in the world. No one cares for Cochise. ~

COCHISE - APACHE

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

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Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 7

"Education is the new weapon of Indian people."

--Eddie Box, SOUTHERN UTE

People have the ability to adapt. In these modern times we must get educated so the people don't lose. We need lawyers, doctors, nurses, foresters, scientists, educators, carpenters, welders. These skills are needed to help the people. While we are learning, we need to remember to keep the culture, learn the dances, sing the songs, learn the language and maintain the Red Road for future generations.

Great Spirit, let my education never lack the meaning and value of spirituality.

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"THINK on THESE THINGS"
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Hardly any of us are without some jealousy. We like to think of ourselves above that painful emotion, because such a monstrous feeling is a destructive thing. But if we have not yet felt a normal amount of it, it is because we have yet to doubt something we love very much.

Margaret, Queen of Navarre, and sister of Francis 1, King of France in the fifteenth century, wrote the following words:

"Love may exist without jealously, although this is rare; but jealousy may exist without love, and that is common; for jealousy can feed on that which is bitter, not less than on that which is sweet, and is sustained by pride as often as by affection."

Jealousy can rear its head when logic is giving you the facts, and throw the whole thing into chaos. But confidence is the enemy of jealousy. Confidence, trust, and faith are all strong parts of a nature where jealousy does not rule.

And jealousy, even in moderation, can introduce us to a serious problem with ourselves, if we let it grow out of proportion. It breeds rejection while maturity and understanding keep us safely within the bounds of permissiveness rather than possessiveness.