The Tale of Two Wolves

A Cherokee Legend

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life:

“A fight is going on inside of 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.”

- Firstpeople.us

For too long, I have fed the evil wolf. Don’t get me wrong, I have also fed the good wolf, however, too much attention was given to that which does not serve me. Experiencing situations through an ugly filter, living life in a way that I was not happy about and constantly having feelings that were miserable. I am a good person, kind, loving, caring, compassionate, generous, and happy. Unfortunately, I have struggled with issues that I could previously never understand. Now that I am learning about these things, finding out the causes, seeing the effects, and working to change how I was experiencing things, I see that there is a much better way to live. A way to allow feed my good wolf and live the life I desire.

As Carl Jung stated, “You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.”

When I think about the way that I have been 'doing' in comparison to what I have wanted to be 'doing', I see that I have been feeding the wrong wolf. I have been feeding the insecurity, the self-pity, the regret, resentment, and so on, so this is what I have become. Why? Why would I want to make that who I am? That is what I have become, because that is what I was doing... even though I would say that I am not going to be that way, feel that way, show up in that way, and that I would work on those things. I was feeding the wrong wolf, while still having intentions to feed the other wolf. I wasn't starving the good wolf, but I was still feeding the evil one and that should never have happened. (Maybe that makes more sense in my mind).

Either way, the wolf that will win in my scenario is the wolf that is good and full of all the qualities that I want for my life. I refuse to feed the evil wolf any longer. Living life the way that I was, does not serve me in anyway whatsoever. It brought me pain, anxiety, restlessness and prevented me from being present in the moment. My life will be full of joy, peace, love, compassion, empathy, and all the other amazing qualities and I will act accordingly. Anything else just feeds the evil wolf and that is not how I intend to show up any longer.