The Wolf You Feed

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. 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 other 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 – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.

You’re the battle ground of Good vs. Evil

Humans contain multitudes. It’s so easy to idolize our favorite actors, singers, models, icons. Decide they are perfect, and beautiful, and live a perfect life. It’s even easier to judge people we don’t like based on our limited knowledge of who they are and what they’ve been through. Worse of all, once a decision about someone has been made it’s nearly impossible to change our minds. If we all looked at each other with a true understanding of the complexity and duality of our personalities and experiences, the world would be a kinder place. 

But that duality is at war. The best, most noble aspects of your being are struggling against your most wicked and selfish tendencies. We’re all capable of being sources of  incredible Good and unspeakable Evil. 

The Battle is Eternal

The fight between Good and Evil is never-ending. Self-doubt and apathy will always fight to destroy confidence and determination. Selfishness and fear will always work to shadow generosity and hope. Humility and peace must constantly work to overtake arrogance and and resentment. 

You can CHOOSE to win

The story of the 2 Wolves is one of the most optimistic tales about human nature I’ve ever heard, because the inherent message is that the Good Wolf will win so long as you choose it.

Insecurity doesn’t have to win. I can choose to accept who I am. Efforts towards self-improvement can be born out of LOVE, not hate. I am the only mind and soul I will ever have. Negativity, self-doubt… I am the one feeding it. Letting the Evil wolf win is a choice I make. Why am I doing that?

I don’t have to be scarred and pained by resentment. I can choose forgiveness and inner peace. I can’t control the actions of others, and I certainly cannot change what is past. But I can stop allowing it to haunt my present. The past has hurt me. It’s made me cry and scream, hide and withdraw, doubt and fear. If I don’t want those things to fill my future, I need to leave the past where it is. 

To be happy and kind is a choice we are all able to make. And unfortunately, not specifically choosing Evil isn’t good enough. An impassive non-choice IS a choice. If you aren’t feeding positivity, you are fueling negativity. The Evil Wolf is a fickle beast, and he will pounce at the first sign of weakness. 

Stop blaming the Evil Wolf for all of your problems and misery when you are the one who is feeding it .The Good Wolf can always win, you just have to choose to feed it everyday. It thrives on a steady diet of self-care, self-love, kindness of heart, humility, strength, and love. 

As Sun Tzu so aptly said, “Know yourself and you will win all battles”. He probably wasn’t referring to the “wolf battle” in all of us… but he may as well have been!