April 11 Daily Feast, Elder's Meditation, THINK on THESE THING

April 11 - Daily Feast

If the wind were a person, we would probably say something unpleasant about him. The more we try to ignore it, the more it seems to intrude, blowing away the cherry blossoms before we have seen them, whipping the lilacs and irises when their exquisite beauty is at its peak. But the wind is like circumstances; it serves a purpose to make the season go forward. It carries seeds of wildflowers and drops them in unexpected places to please us. It helps to unfurl the new leaves and to bring rain. Changes, like the wind, have to be endured at times. But eventually we understand and often like the results. It requires our patience - which gives us time to prepare for what is to come, the same way we have patience with what the Cherokee calls ga no le s gi, a windy person that blows and goes but means well.

~ As there is no alternative between a falsehood and a lie, they (the Cherokee) usually tell any person, you 'lie,' as a friendly negative to a reputed truth. ~

ADAIR

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

Elder's Meditation of the Day April 11

"Spiritual matters are difficult to explain because you must live with them in order to fully understand them."

Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

To know something we must become one with it. We cannot know what a flower smells like until we actually smell it. Close your eyes and experience the fragrance. The Elders say there are two worlds, the Seen World and the Unseen World. To experience the Seen World we need to physically pick the flower and smell it. To experience the Unseen World we need to know about principles, laws and values; and no matter what our mind or our physical senses tell us, we must decide and act on these principles. If someone does wrong to us, we must pray for that person or persons to have peace, happiness and joy in their life. We must not get even or retaliate in any way. Only by doing this can we understand spiritual matters.

Great Spirit, give me your power whenever my weakness shows so I can live by spiritual decisions

'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Before we can share with others, we must have something to share. And all of us do have something to give. Not material things, but we can share our peace and our love and our loyalty.

Before we can share with others, there must be others with whom to share. For if we are selfish and self-centered enough, we will never have to worry about sharing anything. We will be alone.

Before we can expect others to share with us, we must be capable of accepting. We must be worthy of others who desire to share with us; we must deserve their love.

Before the two of us can ever find anything in this world of mutual interest, we must have enough concern and enough love to feel a need within to produce something good enough to offer; not only to others, but to ourselves. If we have abused our own nature with thoughts of bitterness, harboring painful experiences, self-condemnation for little progress regardless of circumstances, then we have nothing to offer.

The French philosopher Achille Poincelot once said, "Some people think that all the world should share their misfortunes, though they do not share in the sufferings of everyone else."