Native American stories are full of wisdom and beautiful metaphors that help us understand in a simple way, our inner reality. Here is the Tale of the Two Wolves, a story that describes perfectly the struggle we face on a daily basis.
A Cherokee elder is instructing his grandson about a battle that goes on inside every human being. He said to the young man, “It is a terrible fight and it happens constantly.
The battle is between two wolves; One is selfish, fearful, greedy, arrogant, full of lies, guilt, self-pity, anger and resentment.” He continued, “The other wolf is kind, loving, joyful, hopeful, generous, truthful, compassionate, faithful and forgiving.
The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person too.”
Then, there was silence.
The grandson thought about the two wolves for a moment and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Our Very Own Tale of the Two Wolves
Are you feeding the good wolf or the bad wolf? You must practice being in touch with your thoughts and feelings if you want to get rid of worry. Feelings are slaves to our thoughts and we are slaves to our feelings.
To calm your mind, turn self-observation into a habit:
- Understand where your thoughts are coming from (love or fear)
- Watch your feelings
- What are your relationships with others telling you about yourself?
- What triggers your reactive behavior?
- How is your internal dialogue?
- What resentments/grievances are you still holding unto?
Observing your mind helps you feed it with “healthy food”. We seem to be very concerned with the way we feed our bodies but how often do we stop to think about what we feed our mind?
Just as the wise old Cherokee said in the two wolves story, which wolf are you feeding?