when i was a kid, i had an irrational fear of wolves. i was convinced they were going to come to my house & ravish me. clearly, ‘little red riding hood’ and ‘the 3 little pigs’ traumatized me.

my fear of wolves has since faded, but when i heard about this old native american legend, i was once again intrigued.

An old Cherokee is 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, and ego.” He continued, “The other 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 – 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 Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

just goes to show…not all of them are big, bad wolves. and there’s nothing to fear.