I was recently reminded of the story below and thought I would share.
An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life. He said, “A fight is going on inside me,” he told the young boy, “a fight between two wolves. The Dark one is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The Light Wolf is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you grandson…and inside of every other person on the face of this earth.” The grandson ponders this for a moment and then asked, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?” The old Cherokee smiled and simply said, “The one you feed”. Every day we make choices, important choices that could be overlooked as being trivial – but these choices define us. They are a statement of whom we choose to be in this life, and what impact we will have on the world around us. It’s obviously so much easier to feed the Dark wolf — the Dark wolf is there to encourage the easier options in life. It’s easier to procrastinate, complain, dismiss, ignore, and give up. There is almost no effort required to do those things, and you’re getting the reward with the sensation of relieving and instant gratification without much action. The Light wolf is very different; it’s harder to feed. It’s challenging, tiring and time-consuming to do things like learning, teaching, inspiring, sharing or simply sticking to new behaviours. These things take energy, effort, vulnerability, momentum, and bravery. They take more time and you don’t usually see immediate results. Which wolf you choose to feed will define who you are, and we all know we should feed the Light wolf — even if it’s harder. Feeding the Light wolf is how we end up feeling a sense of accomplishment and success at the end of the day.
I always thought the story ended there but I found a continuation.
The old Cherokee simply replied, “If you feed them right, they both win.” and the story goes on: “You see, if I only choose to feed the Light wolf, the Dark wolf will be hiding around every corner waiting for me to become distracted or weak and jump to get the attention he craves. He will always be angry and will always fight the Light wolf.” “But if I acknowledge him, he is happy and the light wolf is happy and we all win. For the dark wolf has many qualities — tenacity, courage, fearlessness, strong-willed and great strategic thinking–that I have need of at times. These are the very things the light wolf lacks. But the light wolf has compassion, caring, strength and the ability to recognize what is in the best interest of all.” “You see, son, the light wolf needs the dark wolf at his side. To feed only one would starve the other and they will become uncontrollable. To feed and care for both means they will serve you well and do nothing that is not a part of something greater, something good, something of life.” “Feed them both and there will be no more internal struggle for your attention. And when there is no battle inside, you can listen to the voices of deeper knowing that will guide you in choosing what is right in every circumstance.” “Peace, my son, is the Cherokee mission in life. A man or a woman who has peace inside has everything. A man or a woman who is pulled apart by the war inside him or her has nothing.” “How you choose to interact with the opposing forces within you will determine your life. Starve one or the other or guide them both.”
What is your take away from the story?
