Feed the good wolf
Published March 1, 2009 by John
A wonderful story came by last week, the kind that catches you immediately with a simple and clear wisdom that it shares. It’s an old story, but one I hadn’t heard before. And it was told during the children’s message time at our church, but it caught many more than just the children.
It’s a story attributed to Native American tradition.
One evening a grandfather was teaching his young grandson about the internal battle that each person faces.
“There are two wolves struggling inside each of us,” the old man said.
“One wolf is vengefulness, anger, resentment, self‐pity, fear . . .
“The other wolf is compassion, faithfulness, hope, truth, love . . .”
The grandson sat, thinking, then asked: “Which wolf wins, Grandfather?”
His grandfather replied, “The one you feed.”
It turns out that this wisdom was graciously shared with President Obama on inauguration day as well, by Rev. Sharon Watkins. While she is urging him to remember this when acting on a large stage, it’s a reminder to all of us, in ourselves and in our communities every day: feed the good wolf.
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