Saturday 5 September 2009

Two Wolves




An old Cherokee chief 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, self-doubt, and ego.

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

"This 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 chief simply replied,
"THE ONE YOU FEED."



I know many of you have read this before but it has a powerful message. It was read out in our philosophy class on Thursday as an example of how different choices effect our life.

So the question we face is not whether or not we will be making choices in our life, today, tomorrow, next month or next year - but which choices are we going to make.

19 comments:

Unknown said...

I love this story. Very true. Like today, I had a wonderful day at work because I told myself I would and wouldnt allow it to be any other way.

miruspeg said...

The power of suggestion can be very strong Shannon.
Neat thing is we have the power of choice. We can choose to decide what we let into our mind.
Here is to more wonderful days....and nights!
:-)

Unknown said...

LOL just came back and heard "always look on the bright side of life.."

You rock my world lady! Luv ya!

TheChicGeek said...

Peggy, this is a wonderful story...absolutely perfect and so true. Which wolf will we feed? We have a choice, don't we. Inspiration in the morning to start my day off right. Thank you!
I'm going to print this one and read it often. I want to remind myself that I have the power to choose which self to nurture and which to reject.
I love the picture too...so sweet :D Those are some cute wolves...LOL :D
xox
Kelly

Roban said...

What a wise thought.... and so true! I like the imagery of "feeding" the wolf. I think I'll go give my "empathy," "kind," and "joy" wolf a little treat!

Love the sculpture.... So elegant and graceful....

miruspeg said...

Shannon - I am pleased I rock your world....that is my purpose in life to spread music to the masses!! :-P

Kelly - We all need inspiration from time to time and this piece of writing explains the whole concept simply and beautifully. And with a great visual.
Hey thanks for always stopping by.
You are such a great mate. :-D

Roban - What a great idea to give our good wolf a little treat...hope it is a delightful surprise and something pleasurable!
That sculpture I have as my header is in the grounds where I study philosophy....isn't it delightful!

Caroline said...

Love this story...I can never read it enough. It seems I always come across this when I need to listen to the message! Thank you Peggy!

miruspeg said...

Caroline - Yes I totally agree, I first came across this message years ago but when it was read out in our Philosophy class on Thursday it send a wonderful 'wake up' message to my brain!
Thank YOU Caroline for your daily inspirations over at your blog.
:-)

Christine said...

I've never heard this one before...I love it, such an empowering message. We have the choice. Thanks for this one.

Life Potentials Network said...

I've heard this one before but we really can't hear it enough can we! The photo is beautiful! as are your thoughts! xo

Anonymous said...

You are right we have choices - but in terms of feelings I think that comes when we have a certain awareness. Before we are conscious (or mindful) we act sort of in automatic mode, we get ourselves into worse trouble and can't understand why. Like in your other post, the lesson will be repeated until we finally twig.

Hybrid J said...

Thank you for such wonderful and inspirational story. And what acient widsom the Native Americans have! I've always fascinated by their culture. We all need to be careful of the choice we make ...
BTW - I have a pix of a howling artic wolf on my table. Something about wolf stirs me deeply ... :)

miruspeg said...

Christine - Glad I could introduce you to this Cherokee parable and the empowering pearls of wisdom.
:-)

Diantha (Life Potential Network) - You are 'spot on' about hearing/reading this text over and over. In fact it probably takes a lifetime to really understand the meaning. :-)

Stoneweaver - You always throw something interesting into the mix! Bless you. :-D
Philosophy is also teaching me about avoiding being in automatic mode and instead to 'be here now' (be present) all the time. Old habits die hard though and I feel it will take a lifetime or several lifetimes to truly learn the lesson!!

Hybrid - How wonderful that you have a picture of a howling arctic wolf. They certainly do evoke something spiritual by their appearance and howling. :-)

Frequent Traveler said...

Peggy,
I love your Light. You are so wise... Wonderful post to illustrate that which is always important to remember :)

And yes, of course - I'm sending the invitations out Saturday. I'm so glad you are coming :)

GwendolynKay said...

A TRUELY GREAT STORY WITH AN IMPORTANT MORAL. BLESSINGS! GWENNY:)

Mike Smith said...

Great stuff as usual, Peggy. And I love the new look!

miruspeg said...

Annie - YOU are a very bright, wise, special, important person and thankyou for including me and sending an invitation....sorry to hear you feel forced to have your blog invitation only. :-(

Gwen - Thanks for your blessings and it surely is a GREAT story with an importort moral. And I am so happy I have planted it's seed in my mind. :-)

Mike - Thanks for your lovely comment. I wanted to brighten up my blog for Spring and thought a nice light blue would do the trick!

Chapter Forty said...

Great post Peggy. I was delighted to read 'feed'. Oh those hungry wolves.

miruspeg said...

Chapter Forty - I think that we all have a tendency to feed both wolves, but we always feed one more than the other. It's usually the wolf that we feed the most that tends to determine the quality of our life. If we start to pay attention, we'll also notice that while we may not feed the evil wolf a sizzling steak, we might be throwing it some scraps.
:-)