At the Fifth AnnualWomen’s Self-Care Retreat, we were reminded of a story that goes like this:
There is a Cherokee legend about an old Cherokee teaching his grandson about life. It goes like this:
“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.” He continued, “The other is good – joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked the grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
(http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TwoWolves-Cherokee.html)
This legend is a reminder of the two natures of Jekyll and Hyde. This version came off a napkin from the Jekyll and Hyde restaurant in NY. It states, “In each of us, two natures are at war – the good and the evil. All our lives the fight goes on between them, and one of them must conquer. But in our own hands lies the power to choose – what we want to be most to be we are.
Some people have split personality disorder so their choices may be limited. Still, every single one of us has a shadow side to our personalities which oftentimes reveals itself, mostly to others. Being aware of all sides of our personalities is important because it makes up the totality of who we are. We can make a choice. And so the question awaits an answer – which will you choose to feed in 2013?