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 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 Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
The origins of this story can be traced back to the Native American Cherokee Indian legends. Regarding sources of a somewhat newer date, in slightly modified form the same story can be found in the book "The Holy Spirit: Activating God's Power in Your Life" by Billy Graham (1978) and also in "Experiencing the Soul: Before Birth, During Life, After Death" by Eliot Rosen and Ellen Burstyn (1997) and, most recently, in the movie Tomorrowland (2015), where the tale of two wolves is actually the leitmotif of the movie.
The outcome of the problems we are facing solely lies in what we believe is possible and what we are willing to try. If we want to have peace and understanding among people, a decent life for everyone, or a clean planet with nature thriving, or to travel to other stars, if we want and we believe we can, we will find the way.
It is simply a matter of feeding the right wolf.
And do not forget that feeding the right wolf is a habit. You will need to learn how to do it every single day, until it becomes a part of who you are — an impulse, an instinctive reaction you will not need to think about. It will become part of your character.
“ If you really want to do something, you'll find a way.
If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” *1
— Jim Rohn
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