Consider
the following passage:
One
evening an elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandson about
life. He said to him, “A fight is going
on inside me. It is a terrible fight,
and it is between two wolves.
One
is Evil.
It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret,
greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, dishonesty, false
pride, superiority, and ego.
The
other is Good.
It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity,
humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and
faith.”
The
elder told his grandson of how these two wolves engage in constant battle, and
he said, “My dear boy, this same fight is going on inside you. And it is going on inside every other person,
too.”
The
grandson thought about his grandfather’s words for a moment, and then he asked
his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The
old Cherokee replied matter-of-factly, “The one you feed.”
…I have
come across this passage numerous times over the past few years, and each time
I read it, I find myself asking, “Which wolf have I been feeding lately?”
Like
most of you, readers, I like to think that I spend most of my energies feeding
the good wolf. I like to think this
because I believe that our thoughts really do make our world. I believe in maintaining an optimistic
outlook on life, and I believe in the power of love, kindness, peace,
authenticity and all other traits that the Cherokee elder said the good wolf
embodied. And because I believe in this,
I also believe that investing my energies in the good wolf will undoubtedly
lead me to a more fulfilling reality than its evil counterpart ever will.
Yet,
if I am to be completely honest with myself, I must admit that the evil wolf
has gotten the best of me from time to time. By investing my energy and feeding into this
evil wolf, I have allowed it to cloud my perspective, harbor hard feelings, and
lead me astray. Again, if our thoughts
make our world, feeding the bad wolf, and thus allowing him to win, will lead
to nothing but discontent.
…I
encourage you to take a moment out of your day today and think about which wolf
you have been feeding lately. Is your
good wolf, your wolf of love, strength, honesty, compassion, and benevolence,
alive and well? I hope for you that it is. However, if you find that your evil wolf of
insecurity, anger, sorrow, resentment, or self-pity has become more powerful,
remember that you have the power to change that. By feeding the good wolf and investing
yourself in positive thoughts, feelings, and actions, the return on your investment
will surely be more rewarding than anything that the bad wolf will ever have to
offer.
-El
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