Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Two Wolves

Hi, it’s Kat. I have been on vacation in Florida with my mother and her husband this past week. I thought I would have time to write but I didn’t. I did want to share something, a teaching from the Cherokee. It came up while I was with my mother (she is Native American) and she kept making me retell it to her.

Two Wolves: A Cherokee Teaching

An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life...
He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One wolf is evil -- he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego.
The other is good---he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too."
They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied: "The one you feed".


I must have told it to her 4 or 5 times. She finally got it and throughout our trip she kept asking, "Which wolf are you feeding?" It kept us all present and aware of how we were being. It was really great to be present to consciousness. Where you think is where you live. Where do you live? Which wolf are you feeding?