A wise Cherokee grandfather is telling a story to his grandson.The story is about two wolves – two wolves that seem to be fighting within a human, a two-legged as the natives call the humans. Each wolf is big and strong and the battle is fierce.
One wolf is filled with anger, negativity, fear, arrogance, greed, superiority and false pride. The other wolf contains the qualities of peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
It is a great battle, says the elder, as his grandson listens.
The grandson thought about this fight for a little while. “Which one will win?” the curious child asks the grandfather.
And the grandfather answers:
“The one you feed.”
I don’t know if this story is true or not, or even if it belongs to the Cherokee nation or is just one of those tales that is passed around the Internet. However, one another level, this story is most definitely true. The fact is that what we choose to focus on will grow within our minds. It will soon dominate our thoughts and shade our mood. In the world, we will be alert to confirmations of the qualities of one world or another.
If we focus on our resentments and all the ways that we have been mistreated and misunderstood, we certainly will begin to feel like victims, full of pain and hopelessness. However, if we acknowledge our pain but focus on the blessings that rain into our world, we will grow in our ability to bless our present and our future.
Negativity can also poison our relationships with others. If we have a friend or family member whom we decide is thoughtless, we will watch for all those times when he or she is thoughtless, or careless, or wrong. We won’t be able to see – or will notice for barely a fleeting moment – when the person is caring, or concerned, or loving. The observations will infect the relationship as certainly as any real toxic substance.
What wolf do you feed?
