A tale of two wolves...
Hi everyone
A recent Daily Calm meditation on the Calm app was titled Nurturing and included the following story -
An old man 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 bad – he is 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?”
The old man simply replied, “The one you feed.”
How does this story speak to you? The obvious could be that all of us have positive and negative parts to our character, and that the parts we focus on most - the wolf we feed - will be the parts that flourish. However, more often than not, it is impossible to completely starve all parts of ourselves, so our interpretation is that the wolf we feed most is the one that will be strongest. The wolf looked at as being the 'bad wolf' still needs to be fed, it just needs to be fed with the right food and cared for in a kind and loving way. This will probably never completely change the wolf, but they may be able to manage their insecurities and negative habits so that the battle raging against both wolves stays mostly peaceful. Isn't this what mindfulness is about? Recognising the present moment, and every part of ourselves, and taking time to nurture our bodies and minds so that we have the strongest foundations to control the 'bad' wolf when they inevitably have days that overwhelm the 'good' one? On the flip side, how would the 'good' wolf react if we scolded them and spoke to them with the same language and tone that we sometimes use on ourselves, in our own minds? Mindfulness meditation in particular, when practised regularly, allows us to recognise these moments and react sooner, in an accepting manner with no judgement and a little patience.
We are more than just one wolf - perhaps even a pack? 'Good' and 'bad' wolves live within each of us, look after both with love and understanding and they will be tame most of the time...
What's your interpretation?
Have a great day
Sam and Ash
