June 20 Daily Feast, Elder's Meditation, THINK on THESE THING

June 20 - Daily Feast

Everything is fresh and new on a June morning. Someone performed a miracle while we slept. The air was cleaned to crystal clarity, the rising sun glistens on every leaf and blade of grass. The hills are new green from spring rains and the horses that graze there are sleek and shiny. Such rewards, such a as s dv, are for the early riser, the one who greets the day with thanksgiving and praise. Regardless of how many tagalongs from yesterday threaten, they cannot break the spell of the beauty at hand. Another opportunity, another splendid day that is so oblivious to the schemes of man. To go with it, to rise with the morning mist, is to know the freedom and restoration in the soul of the American Indian.

~ To the Indian, words that are true sink deep into his heart where they remain; he never forgets them. ~

FOUR GUNS

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

Elder's Meditation of the Day June 20

"But in the Indian Spirit the land is still vested; it will be until other men are able to divine and meet its rhythm. Men must be born and reborn to belong. Their bodies must be formed of the dust of their forefathers' bones."

Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX

It is said when we walk on the Earth, we are walking on our ancestors and our unborn children. This is the relationship Native People have with the Earth. It is this relationship which gives insight into the Earth's rhythm and heartbeat and creates the feeling of belonging. If you feel you belong to something, you'll treat it with respect. If you feel you are above something, you'll treat it with disrespect. Indian Spirituality is tied to the Earth. We belong to the Earth along with all other creatures on the Earth. We must align to this realization.

Great Spirit, today, teach me to respect the Earth Mother.

'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

At those times when we have planned for something and have our hearts set on our affairs going in a certain direction but they fail to materialize, we are disappointed. If we have any faith at all, we must remember that one door never closes but another opens. That which once seemed the right thing to plan for may not hold all the things that would be for our good in the long run. It may have been right in the beginning, but as time passes and other events come into being, a change may be necessary for the benefit of the over-all picture.

Sometimes we fix our attention so rigidly on one thing, one part of life, one person, that a change throws us into a state of extreme disappointment. But disappointment, like all of the emotions, can serve to strengthen rather than take away. The attitude with which we face life can determine its outcome.

We can look with woeful eyes on the negative mental attitude and wallow in self-pity, or we can flip the mind to the upper side and let the positive mental attitude bring to us the strength and peace we need.

Disappointment is something no one has escaped. The many plans we make sometimes fade like mist in the sunlight. A cherished dream may take another shape and to lose that vision can throw a dim view on all of life. Because one tiny part could not be fulfilled, we are so tempted to let all of the rest go with it.

But if only we could wait a bit. So often we then come to realize the reason for our change in plans.

Sometimes disappointment is the very thing that keeps us mounting the steps upward, keeps us stretching our minds to understand. And it may test our spirits. For if disappointment can make a spirit bitter, the joy of accomplishment would have soon soured.

There is no joy in a disappointment, but it may be the thing to save us from a life of mediocrity.

English novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton wrote, "Man must be disappointed with the lesser things in life before he can accomplish the full value of the greater."

Donadagahv’I

Tawodi Unega
( White Hawk )

I will be going by My new true and traditional Cherokee Name From the Bird Clan . It will not be official, however, until I can have the ceremony for it By my Udo ( Brother ) Mashu: Tawodi Unega ( White Hawk )

"Be good, be kind, help each other."
"Respect the ground, respect the drum, respect each other."

Abe Conklin - Ponca/Osage, (1926-1995)

May The Creator walk with you.