The Real Story of The Two Wolves

[schubert]

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 fear, 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?”

You might heard the story ends like this: The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

In the Cherokee world, however, the story ends this way:

The old Cherokee simply replied, “If you feed them right, they both win.” and the story goes on:

“You see, if I only choose to feed the white wolf, the black one will be hiding around every corner waiting for me to become distracted or weak and jump to get the attention he craves. He will always be angry and always fighting the white wolf. But if I acknowledge him, he is happy and the white wolf is happy and we all win. For the black wolf has many qualities – tenacity, courage, fearlessness, strong-willed and great strategic thinking – that I have need of at times and that the white wolf lacks. But the white wolf has compassion, caring, strength and the ability to recognize what is in the best interest of all.

"You see, son, the white wolf needs the black wolf at his side. To feed only one would starve the other and they will become uncontrollable. To feed and care for both means they will serve you well and do nothing that is not a part of something greater, something good, something of life. Feed them both and there will be no more internal struggle for your attention. And when there is no battle inside, you can listen to the voices of deeper knowing that will guide you in choosing what is right in every circumstance. Peace, my son, is the Cherokee mission in life. A man or a woman who has peace inside has everything. A man or a woman who is pulled apart by the war inside him or her has nothing.

"How you choose to interact with the opposing forces within you will determine your life. Starve one or the other or guide them both.”

source: https://www.quora.com/Is-fear-a-more-pow...z-80?ch=10

[AnthroHeart]

Yeah, feeding one and starving the other is a little presumptuous isn't it?

[Sacred Fool]

  
The "modern" version of that story very well represents Christian/Manichean religious thinking whereby there are two competing gods, one good and one evil, in contention for the "soul" of humanity.  That's one way of looking at the world, but embracing one while rejecting the other leaves one open to flip flops in spiritual alignment.  It's like an inexperienced canoeist paddling from one bank to the other instead of straight up the waterway. 

Case in point: St. Francis of Assisi founded a religious order based on love, and few centuries later Franciscans were accompanying the Conquistadors in the New World supporting the murder and enslavement of the locals by the tens of thousands.  Another instance of how the black wolf can work against you in the shadows if you declare it an enemy is the way sexual predation had (or has) become institutionalized in a variety of religious organizations, likewise, supposedly dedicated to love.

Indeed, one's shadow can become an horribly destructive force if one makes an enemy of it.  And, just to add a contemporary twist, that is exactly why we should regard DJ Trump and his band of thieves with love....as well as with discipline.