Feeding time...

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."

I find that the first wolf does not require as much care to thrive in my life.  He's leaner and stronger than the second.  He's more agile and aggressive.  He always seems the first to react in difficult situations.  Human nature is to coddle feelings of anger, resentment and superiority without  nurturing feelings of happiness, compassion and humility.  How many times have I reflected on how happy I was about something good that happened?  How many times have I reflected on how angry I was about being wronged by someone else?  Which wolf am I feeding?

To successfully feed the second wolf, I have to do a better job of intentionally nurturing those characteristics that come so unnatural to me.

I'm out.