The Battle of the Wolves

There is a Cherokee proverb that goes like this:  "There is a battle of two wolves inside us all.  One is evil.  It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego.  The other is good.  It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.  The wolf that wins??  The one you feed."

Being human we all have this internal opposition of forces - but it is what we act upon that decides if we remain true to a higher intention and vibration or if we succumb to baser forces and vibrations.

I have moments that I don't feel so well either physically or even emotionally - I am sure you do as well.  It is in these moments that we are likely to be most tested about our intention and commitment to our higher potential.  For the ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge, controversy and discomfort.  Life, like a string of tangled Christmas tree lights, will gives us many experiences that will test our patience, our endurance and our good humor.  It is in these moments that it becomes vitally important to not lose our way, but to stay focused on which wolf we want to feed.

I think it is also important to remember during times of turmoil that we do not undertake traversing difficult ground alone.  We are never alone and are guided, cared for and supported by many in this world and in other realms.  There are life experiences so great that without the assistance from our Guides and Teachers we would not be able to reach a safe shore.  This has been true in my life - for which I am deeply grateful.

Any experience that causes a negative emotional reaction may trigger our "evil" wolf.  It becomes important to find positive outlets for negative emotional reactions...or perhaps as I was told as a child, just count to ten before you decide if you will react.  We all feel negative emotions - anger, disappointment, hurt feelings, etc. but just because you feel them doesn't mean that you have to act on them.  If fact, just the opposite is true - given a little space of time the emotional reaction will dissipate and you can regain your balance without having said or done anything you might regret later.  It may be useful to use the "if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all" approach until you can get a better perspective.

There is useful information underlying the event that triggers our "evil" wolf.  Under the emotional reaction is the stored pain of an unhealed aspect of ourselves that is reminding us of the work we have yet to do.  It is good to know - but still not a good reason to act on the impulse - only to observe for areas calling out for our attention.  It is never justifiable to hurt others because we have been hurt ourselves.

Paying attention to which aspect of ourselves receives the most attention - the most of our energy is the first step in being able to consciously make choices about which wolf we will feed.  It is not realistic to expect that we will never have a negative reaction, only that we will have the focused commitment to rise above and consciously choose to act out of compassion even in the most difficult, trying and uncomfortable situations.

In peace.............Margie