February 8 Daily Feast, Elder's Meditation, THINK on THESE THING

February 8 - Daily Feast

It is interesting to see someone take one little idea and make it grow into something that benefits many people. Could it be that an idea hangs before us like a worm in a chrysalis that is able to emerge as a beautiful ka ma ma - butterfly? When we reach for the stars we should remember that we are rooted and grounded in little things. The basis for success that lasts is the knowledge that slow and careful construction cannot be toppled by fickle and fast-moving tastes. So much is made to be temporary - the fast-moving fads - and people jump aboard to ride them for the duration. In the process the ka ma ma is crushed before it ever develops, and the pupa-idea must begin all over again. But it remembers its beginnings, its basic purpose.

~ I may be forced to adopt a new way of life, but my heart and spirit spring from the red earth. ~

PAINTED WOLF

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

Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 8

"No individual or group can block another individual's path or change it against what fits his nature and his purpose. It might be done for a time, but in the end it won't work out."

Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE

Every person is born for a purpose. We may know our purpose very early in our lives, or it may take us some time. Very often we need to experience many things before our purpose is clear to us. Sometimes we pick our goals to please others. Sometimes others pick our goals to make themselves happy. Often this makes us unhappy. We need to pray to the Creator and ask Him what our purpose is. When we live outside our purpose, our path is full of obstacles. When we live inside our purpose, our path is smooth. When we are aligned to our purpose, we are happy and content.

Great Spirit, whisper to me, in terms I can understand, what You would have me do and I will do it.

'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Do you want to know the truth about worry? It hits everyone. It is not an ailment just for weaklings or cowards. Worry is the cat you throw out only to have it back in before you can close the door.

Worry has another side. It proves we care very much, and that we appreciate our God-given gifts and loved ones. In a way, it is a sign of strength, for if we can turn it to faith, then faith can be just as strong. And to overcome worry, or to at least control it, there must be faith.

Faith, and the knowledge that if you could be in all the places, watching closely all the things about which you are concerned, you couldn't do a tenth as much good as one simple prayer.

We are taught, "Be not anxious," "Fear not," and "Be not afraid," and too quickly we become anxious, fearful, and very frightened. But even then we have only to put worry to flight by remembering those quieting words that are so absolutely true, "Be still and know that I am God."

Recently we had a summer storm. It was rumbling and heavy with darkness. The lightning flashed across the sky, and trees bent back and forth in the uncertain currents. When the first huge drops of rain spattered across the walks and lawns, our thoughts turned to the safety of anyone or anything that might be caught out in the wind and rain.

We've been through many summer storms. Some of them left permanent marks upon our memories. The threatening, the darkness, the pressure of the atmosphere are not so different from the emotional storms of the human life. We see lives under pressure bend to and fro in the uncertainty of life. We know concern for the safety of those who experience emotional storms. Then we know the only answer is in God's hands. There is no other way.

The good earth rights itself quickly after a storm. Nature comes forth more richly for having gone through the storm, and the scars are lost in new growth. And blessed are we when we lift ourselves up to a new, deeper radiance and peace.

Donadagahv’i
Uwetsidvhi Waya Uwasv
( Son of Lone Wolf )

May The Creator walk with you.

A-na-s-gv-ti A-quatse-li E-qua A-da-nv-do
Wa-tsi Ga-wo-hi-lv-do-di Ni-hi
( May Our Great Spirit Watch Over You )