The Two Wolves

About eight years ago I received a e-mail with a saying attached that said “Tape this to your refrigerator.” I loved the saying so much I printed it out and put it on the front of the refrigerator. I don’t know about you, but before we upgraded to our stainless steel beast of a refrigerator, I would hang things all over the front of my old refrigerator. I used to have random pictures, inspirational sayings and clippings, my son’s drawings and crazy magnets from anywhere and everywhere. When we upgraded, I had some decisions to make! The only part of the new refrigerator that was magnetic were the sides. Since one side was against a wall and the other was half covered by the counter I was left with just one side to work with, eeeek!

I kept some of my favorite magnets, one drawing, a couple pictures that I just didn’t want to put away and the saying I got from the e-mail eight years prior. The new refrigerator was no longer the show-off and contemplative space in the house. How many times have you gone to someone’s house and after looking at all the stuff on their refrigerator you have gotten a great snapshot of their life? I guess Facebook has taken over that role!

Today I was drawn to that one saying I printed out so long ago. I realized that I look at it several times a day and it still resonates very deeply. I thought it would be great to share as it is such simple message with one clear direction to follow. In a world where things are so fast paced, complicated and fraught with stress on a daily basis, it feels good when I can look at something that is two paragraphs long and it makes sense. Feel free to cut it out and tape it to your refrigerator or post it on Facebook!

It is an old Cherokee legend with no specific author to give credit to.  I want to thank my good friend for sending it to me and also thank whoever it was that wrote it down for future generations to enjoy and learn from.

An old Cherokee is teaching his granson 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.  The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.  This 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 would win.

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Take some time to think about which of the qualities listed above you tend to feed. Where in your life do you notice anger? And how could you transform the anger into empathy or hope?  The body’s energy system holds all of the good and bad that we have experienced and also what we give back to others.  Learning more about how the chakras hold energy (both good and bad) can help transform what I call the “shadow wolf”  (the word evil is a little extreme for me). In my healing practice, I have found that once people understand what issue is related to the shadow side of their personality, it opens the door to healing and true transformation can take place.  I am so grateful that I kept this saying taped (actually clipped) to the refrigerator!

Abundant Blessings to you!

Trish

p.s. Remember what Picasso says;

“Whatever you can imagine is real.”