The Two Wolves
Posted on January 26, 2005 in Personal
(last edited on April 29, 2014 at 1:29 am)
(last edited on April 29, 2014 at 1:29 am)
I came across this link via a friend. It tells this parable:
The Wolves Within
An old Grandfather, whose grandson came to him with anger at a schoolmate who had done him an injustice, said, “Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times.” He continued, “It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.” “But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.” The boy looked intently into his Grandfather’s eye and asked, “Which one wins, Grandfather?” The Grandfather solemnly said, “The one I feed.”
This struck a chord. If this was Vacation Bible School, the easy intepretation would be “Don’t feed the angry one. Peace out.” Indeed, this is what I started to write. However, it occurs to me that the two wolves represent a spectrum of action; there are perhaps times when you need to call on that action. In the case of self-defense, for example. Or when there clearly is evil afoot, as clear as we can see at any given time.
So I suppose the corollary is, “You are what you eat” :-)
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