Two wolves
I am always rather suspicious of tales of Amerindian wisdom (is there a Cherokee term for 'ego' for example?), particularly in the light of the Chief Seattle's speech controversy, but the actual origins of this make little difference.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.
"One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
"The other is Good - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
It reminds me of a delightful Vietnamese folktale about the difference between Heaven and Hell.
In Hell there is all the rice you can eat, but everyone is starving because they can only use chopsticks too long to bring the food to their mouth.
In Heaven, things are exactly the same except everyone feeds each other.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.
"One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
"The other is Good - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
It reminds me of a delightful Vietnamese folktale about the difference between Heaven and Hell.
In Hell there is all the rice you can eat, but everyone is starving because they can only use chopsticks too long to bring the food to their mouth.
In Heaven, things are exactly the same except everyone feeds each other.