July 26 - Daily Feast

July 26 - Daily Feast If we squint our eyes a little when we look in the mirror, the result isn't so bad. But when we pass a mirror and catch a reflection unexpectedly, it reveals more than we wanted to see. In a brief moment, we caught ourselves unaware. There was no time to narrow the eyes - and there we were without a disguise. It was a stranger. No smiles - just grim. Why is it we think we are smiling when we are not? The Cherokee often has a stoic expression, a du tiv to di, a mask that protects his sensitive nature from the world around him. Others are the same way. It helps to have a sense of humor when we are caught off-guard. ~ Old Lakota knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard. ~ STANDING BEAR 'A Cherokee Feast of Days', by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day July 26 "These are our times and our responsibilities. Every human being has a sacred duty to protect the welfare of our Mother Earth, from whom all life comes. In order to do this, we must recognize the enemy - the one within us. We must begin with ourselves..." --Leon Shenandoah, ONONDAGA The outside is merely a reflection of our insides. My mind is designed to tell me that I'm not crazy for thinking what I am thinking. Even if I have angry thought, my mind is giving me excuses and reasons why it is OK to think what I'm thinking. I need to be knowledgeable about the laws of harmony and balance. I cannot twist the laws to serve me but I can adjust my life to serve the laws. This is the law - I am here to serve the earth. The earth is not here for me to misuse and abuse. Oh Great Spirit, allow me the insight and knowledge of how to live in harmony and balance with my surroundings. Grant me change from within. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler All of us have at sometime questioned our normalcy as human beings. We wonder why we did this or that, why we reacted to something so violently, or why we failed to react at all. An American author, Katherine Fullerton Gerould, has written, "The only glory most of us have to hope for is the glory of being normal." And for all our questionable actions sometimes normal people must be those who have felt not only the high points, but the low points of their emotions. It is not the fact that people run the gamut of their emotions that make them normal, but that they have had the ability to right themselves before they could impose upon the rights of others. The persons who never lose their tempers, nor shed tears, nor refuse to respond to other people, but stay day after day in light, shallow experience, have never known what it is to come into the center of the calm so richly appreciated. All of us have made mistakes in behavior, some in ignorance, but more in bad taste. Perfection belongs to a higher Source. It is ours to strive for; and our mistakes are to use in the growing-up process. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to be added to The Daily Feast email list, CLICK HERE!