A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.” The grandson asked him, “Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?” The grandfather answered: “The one I feed.”
The vengeful, angry, violent wolf
This is the wolf that looks for the bad in life. The one that feels like it is always being attacked and must attack back. It may have been hurt before and no longer trusts anyone or anything. Everything it sees is negative and needs to be considered a threat. It sees everything bad in the world and is constantly angry, spiteful, and ready to attack.
Do you constantly see the bad in the world and in people? Are you quick to snap, judge, complain, or attack? Is your outlook on the way things are mostly negative? Do you find yourself angry each day, even over the little things? Do you feel like you’ve been treated unfairly? Are you a victim of this world and constantly on the defense?
The loving, compassionate wolf
This is the wolf that looks for the good in life. It has forgiveness and understanding in its heart. It will help where it can and understand when things don’t go its way. It is lead by love and compassion and doesn’t let anger enter its heart.
Do you constantly see the good in the world and in people? Do you understand that people will make mistakes and are doing the best they can? Do you lift people up and support them in their times of stress? Do you experience most days with joy in your heart, happy, and looking forward to the next day? Do you believe you are treated fairly and are empowered to be bigger than you are today?
The Takeaway
You have a choice as to what you see in this world. The person who doesn’t hold the door for you may appear to be just another rude guy, only looking out for himself. Or maybe he is a new father with a very sick child at home, overwhelmed, scared, and in a hurry to get back to do all he can? We have to understand that we tell ourselves stories all the time about what is happening around us. We tell ourselves these stories, in an instant, and use them to help us form opinions about right and wrong, filling us full of love and sometimes even hate.
How you experience this world is all up to you and the stories you tell yourself. We all have the vengeful, angry, violent wolf inside us, looking out for number one, defensive, and ready to attack in an instant. We also have the loving, compassionate wolf that is supportive and caring. How we view our lives and situations inevitably controls how happy or angry we are. We just need to ask ourselves, “Which wolf am I feeding?”