The Two Wolves Within

“Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.” ~Ezra Taft Benson

I was speaking with a client recently about an internal struggle she was having with her thoughts and emotions around a situation she’s dealing with right now. She is a caring and giving woman to others but never that kind to herself. And of course, as we all know, when frustration or fear are involved, our thoughts can become our own worst enemy. Can you relate? I know I sure can. 

Anyway, as we talked through her coaching session it reminded me of the old parable of the two wolves. I asked her if she’d ever heard the story and she had not. I did my best to tell it from my memory. (It’s been about 20 years since I’d heard it.) Then told her I’d find the story and send it to her. To which I went to my old trusty friend Google to search for it.

And sure enough, I found it right away. But as with any good Google search, I was soon sucked into the vortex of the search and digging in deeper than I might have needed to. But, I found something interesting… there are different versions of the story. And the version I had known was really only half of the story. The moral of that half has been a powerful lesson and reminder to me for years. But then as I read the rest of it… I was blown away by the depth and truth of it.

Before I explain why, here’s the story of the two wolves:

An old Cherokee Indian chief was teaching his grandson about life.

He said, "A fight is going on inside me," he told the young boy, "a fight between two wolves.

The Dark 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 Light Wolf 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 grandson…and inside of every other person on the face of this earth.”

The grandson ponders this for a moment and then asked, "Grandfather, which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee smiled and simply said, "The one you feed".

Pretty profound right?

I’ve always thought that the wolf you choose to feed will define who you are and how you experience life. Every day we make important choices. Choosing which thoughts, emotions and behaviors we will feed with our energy, attention and focus.

Based on this version of the story it seems obvious that we should feed the Light wolf. But yet, we don’t always do that. All too often, we don’t tend to them as if they are a choice at all. We let them roam freely, we ignore them and if we are not paying attention, it can be easy to only feed the Dark wolf. Which based on this version of the story, is not a good thing to do.  

However, in my recent search, I found another version of this parable. And the ending surprised me.

The story continues like this...

The old Cherokee simply replied, “If you feed them right, they both win.” 

“You see, if I only choose to feed the Light wolf, the Dark wolf will be hiding around every corner waiting for me to become distracted or weak and jump to get the attention he craves. He will always be angry and will always fight the Light wolf.”

“But if I acknowledge him, he is happy and the Light wolf is happy and we all win. For the Dark wolf has many qualities — tenacity, courage, fearlessness, strong-willed and great strategic thinking–that I have need of at times. These are the very things the Light wolf lacks. But the Light wolf has compassion, caring, strength and the ability to recognize what is in the best interest of all.”

“You see, son, the Light wolf needs the Dark wolf at his side. To feed only one would starve the other and they will become uncontrollable. To feed and care for both means they will serve you well and do nothing that is not a part of something greater, something good, something of life.”

“Feed them both and there will be no more internal struggle for your attention. And when there is no battle inside, you can listen to the voices of deeper knowing that will guide you in choosing what is right in every circumstance.”

“Peace, my son, is the Cherokee mission in life. A man or a woman who has peace inside has everything. A man or a woman who is pulled apart by the war inside him or her has nothing.”

“How you choose to interact with the opposing forces within you will determine your life. Starve one or the other or guide them both.”

Quite the plot twist, isn’t it?

I think what got me about this version of the story is how clear it was that the first version indicates the Dark wolf was only bad. Of course we don’t want to feed the negative thoughts, emotions or behaviors but what if we could actually see the best in both wolves? I mean after all, sometimes we don’t believe in the Light wolf enough either. We see it as weak or vulnerable. But when we look for the good in both, just like when we look for the good in all people and all situations, we can see it, nurture it and as a result, we grow stronger as a whole.

What about you – how do you perceive these two versions of the story? And which wolf have you been feeding lately? If you are starving one, and over feeding the other, maybe it’s time to show love and compassion to all of you. Nurturing each and every part of you that you want to thrive. Either way, one important fact remains, what you feed – where you put your energy, attention and focus, will win. So be sure that you are choosing to feed the parts of you that you want to win.

Ready to start creating big change in your life? Begin today with the Heroic App and learn how to fuel the wolves inside you!