A colleague shared this story with me this morning, I thought I'd post it here to see what you all think...
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The Two Wolves of Change
There are many theories about how people change – how they change their behaviour, change the ‘patterns’ that may have driven them for many years, change their way of life. Although we sometimes hear of ‘miraculous’ or sudden shifts, more often than not, change is difficult and comes as a result of a combination and accumulation of factors over time. In many respects, once you have a clear goal of how you want to be, or of what you want to change, then it is a matter of making small and daily choices, of attempting to surround yourself with aspects of life that promote that change. If we do this, over time, change will inevitably happen – why would it not be otherwise?
There is a traditional Native American story which illustrates this process beautifully. It is a story for many occasions. It goes something like this:
A grandfather from the Cherokee Nation was talking with his grandson.
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
"One wolf is evil and ugly: He is anger, envy, war, greed, self-pity, sorrow, regret, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, selfishness and arrogance.
"The other wolf is beautiful and good: He is friendly, joyful, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, justice, fairness, empathy, generosity, true, compassion, gratitude, and deep vision.
"This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other human as well."
The grandson paused in deep reflection because of what his grandfather had just said. Then he finally asked; "Oyee! Grandfather, which wolf will win?"
The elder Cherokee quietly replied, "The wolf that you feed."
(from www.firstpeople.us)
