A lesson that guarantees you can win at life
By M.A. Fuller, Reiki Practitioner & Stress Management Coach
Whew! What a week, the kids are back in school, there is more traffic than you remembered, and joyful memories of a not-so-distant summer are waning. This is an extremely stressful time of year, and not just for parents.
Whether you stay at home, you work with someone who has school-aged children, or you are a student yourself, it is important to remember your stress management techniques to keep your mind and body healthy this time of year.
With the timely spirit of study, this week’s stress management reminder is in the form of a wise Cherokee parable.
An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson 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, self-doubt, 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 will win?”
The old chief simply replied,
“The one you feed.”
This is a favorite of mine, and there are two important lessons one can take from this:
Firstly, focus on all the positive around you, the tiny miracles happening each day, the things you are thankful for, and the beauty that surrounds where we live. As you do, those enlightening occurrences will get stronger.
Secondly, remember that each person you encounter has his own “battle of the wolves” happening. That my friend, is exactly that: his own battle. So keep in mind when you are around someone who is feeding the evil wolf: don’t let him throw food to yours. Reward your inner good wolf instead and march on in your grateful state of bliss.
This is a daily practice, so don’t get discouraged if you accidentally allowed the evil wolf to go to town on the negative buffet today. Start fresh tomorrow. We need to eat every day and each wolf must as well; it’s your choice which one to feed.
