January 5, 2017 Daily Feast Of Wisdom (Tsugitsvnvda Danalisdayvhvsgv Agadohvsdi ) (ᏧᎩᏨᏅᏓ ᏓᎾᎵᏍᏓᏴᎲᏍᎬ ᎠᎦᏙᎲᏍᏗ)

2017

January
Dunolvatni
ᏚᏃᎸᎠtᏂ

Thursday
Ugineiga
ᎤᎩᏁᎢᎦ

January 5 - Daily Feast
Volume II

The ground beneath our feet can seem awfully slippery at times. Something mental or emotional catches us off guard and we fall to our knees as though we are totally helpless. Never add self-criticism to the load. This is one of the first things we try to do - blame ourselves that we could not see. Why were we not stronger? Why did our faith fail and where did the power go in a crisis? We grieve because we think we have failed - because we could not hold the line. No, we have not failed, we have loved. We have held life softly and reverently and change has come.

~ Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. ~

SEATTLE - SUQUAMISH 1786 to 1866

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

Elder's Meditation of the Day - January 5

"But first, let us join hands and pray."

Starleaf, SHINNECOCK

Where two or more human beings joined together for a common cause, the helpers and the Grandfathers will show up to help. When our Indian people come together, the Elders say, "always pray first-do a ceremony and ask the Creator to be with us and to help us. We can never pray enough." The Elders also say, "pray in a circle because the Creator made things in circles. When we stand in a circle and pray together, a sacred hoop will form above the people. This is the spiritual way."

Oh Great Spirit, through my prayers I can find Your guidance. I pray You guide my path today. Touch my life with Your holy breath.

'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Most successful ventures have behind them some hardships. We as human beings demand such experiences before we can truly appreciate the meaning of victory. No one promised that life would be one long gala event, but if we're made of durable stuff, we neither let it hinder us nor make us run roughshod to get ahead.

We must always recognize past hardships for what they are. We cannot ignore them, for they are a part of our makeup. But neither can we let them become crutches to lean upon when there's need for an excuse.

Bitterness over past experiences wastes valuable time. Perhaps it was those hardships that gave us the strength to rise above the mediocre things. However crude, ugly, or unhappy, even tragic, some of the times may seem, as seen alone, when combined with all our other knowledge they form the perfect circle and play no more important part than all the rest.

In the words of American poet John Neal, "No man ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm."