04/12/2025
The 2 Wolves
A Cherokee elder and his grandson are sitting around a fire. The elder speaks to his grandson about life. “A battle rages inside me,” he says. “It is dangerous, and it is between two wolves. One is evil. He is full of anger, arrogance, guilt, resentment, lies, and ego.” “The other wolf is good. He is full of joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, and truth. The same wolves that fight within me, fight inside of you and everyone else. The grandson thought about his grandfather’s words and asked, “Which wolf will win the fight?”
The old Cherokee smiled and replied, “If you feed them right, they both win.” “You see, if I only feed the good wolf, the bad wolf will hide in the dark, waiting for me to falter so that it can pounce and get the attention he craves. He will always be angry and will always be fighting the good wolf. But if I acknowledge him, as well as the good wolf, they both will be satisfied, and we all win.
The bad wolf has qualities that I need, something the good wolf lacks: tenacity, courage, fearlessness, strong will, and resourcefulness. The good wolf instead provides compassion, caring, heart, and the ability to value the needs of others over his own. You see, the two wolves need each other. Feeding only one and starving the other will eventually make both uncontrollable. Caring for both wolves allows them both to serve you so that you can do something good with your time on Earth. Feed them both, and you will quiet their internal struggle for your attention, and when there is no battle inside, you can then hear the voices of deeper knowledge that will guide you in choosing the right path in every circumstance.
Moral: How you choose to treat the opposing forces within you will ultimately determine how you live your life.”