No doubt you are all familiar with this oft-quoted snippet of Cherokee wisdom but, in the true nature of myth and legend, it does no harm to repeat it. In fact, whilst we search for new stories to tell ourselves in this failing world, this one might help to draw us in the right direction.
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life, and he says, “A battle goes on within each of us. It is like a fight between two wolves. One wolf is good, and lives in harmony with all around him. He will not take offence when no offence is meant, he lives in peace and will only fight when there is no other option and then only in the right way. The other wolf is bad. He is full of anger and fights all the time for no reason at all. He cannot think straight, because his anger and hate are so great. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves, because each tries to dominate.”
The grandson thought for a minute, then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
And his grandfather said, “The one we feed.”