Cherokee Proverb of Two Wolves

After introducing Lone Wolf, it seems most practical to unpack the Cherokee Proverb of Two Wolves, as it is the foundation not only of this ideology, but of life: 

 

Two Wolves: A Cherokee Proverb

 

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.” 

 

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.

I have discovered this proverb proves a powerful metaphor for life, while also fitting nicely into the wolf theme to which I have hitched my wagon. I will unpack each section of this proverb, as it relates to life.

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

This represents an internal struggle, rather than an external one. Indeed, in the many ways it has been expressed, it is true that our greatest fight is often within, against ourselves. I would contend it is our only real fight, and that by mastering our fight within, we make ourselves fit to master the battles outside of us.

 

“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.”

Generally speaking, the Bad Wolf represents bad, unhealthy, negative experiences of life. One may also add other common negative, unhealthy experiences, such as disease, pain, frustration, depression, loneliness, fear, self-loathing, addiction, anxiety, etc.

 

He continued, “The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.” 

The Good Wolf represents generally good, healthy, positive experiences of life. In addition to these healthy, positive experiences of life are: health, happiness, confidence, freedom, possibilities, opportunities, inspiration, appreciation, gratitude, abundance, wealth, strength, life, liberty, etc.

 

“The same fight is going on inside you—and inside every other person, too.”

We all share this internal struggle. It is a universal human experience, which is another reason this proverb is so powerful. This is also an eternal, lifelong struggle, meaning we must always be cautious and vigilant, keeping ourselves in consistent check. Arrogance and laziness, themselves inherent to our Bad Wolf, can open the door to making it the “alpha” of our lives at any moment, no matter how long and strong we’ve been feeding our Good Wolf. The bright side is that it does get easier as our Good Wolf gets stronger and our Bad Wolf weaker. Additionally, we are always learning and growing, encountering new levels of ourselves and tapping into new areas of our hearts, which is the real inspiration, essence, and “Great Thing” of life.

 

The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

While this may seem like the obvious question, it is important to note that there is a winner. There is always an alpha in a wolf pack, as there is in my life. Either the Good Wolf or Bad Wolf will be dominant. They cannot rule together. One will rule if the other does not. Which wolf do I want to rule my life? Which experience of life do I want for myself? Which “wolf” will win?

 

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.” 

This is the punch line both of the proverb and of life. I choose which wolf wins based on which one I feed. The question remains, “how do I feed them, and how do I know which wolf I’m feeding?” The “food” is my choices: healthy, supportive choices feed my Good Wolf, and unhealthy, unsupportive choices feed my Bad Wolf. When I make supportive choices, I steer my life in a generally healthy direction, toward health and happiness, and feel good about myself. When I make unsupportive choices, I steer my life in a generally unhealthy direction, away from health and happiness, and feel generally miserable about my life and myself. 

 

In the context of the heart vs. the mind, which I will discuss in future posts, the Good Wolf is my heart, and my Bad Wolf is my mind. In the context of neural pathways, upon which I will also elaborate in future work, my Good Wolf is healthy neural pathways, and my Bad Wolf is unhealthy neural pathways. Essentially, supportive choices fuel and strengthen my heart and healthy neural pathways, while unsupportive choices fuel my mind and unhealthy neural pathways. 

 

With each choice, I feed either my Good Wolf or my Bad Wolf. Eventually, whichever I feed most becomes the strongest and most dominant, and whichever I feed least becomes starved and weak. The longer and more consistently I feed my Good Wolf, the stronger and more resilient it becomes, while my Bad Wolf becomes weaker and less impactful on my life. Conversely, the more I feed my Bad Wolf, the stronger it gets, and the weaker and less resilient my Good Wolf becomes.

 

It's important to note here that neither “wolf” ever really dies. As the proverb indicates, this is a lifelong struggle. However, one Wolf can get so weak it almost seems dead. If I feed my Good Wolf long and consistently enough, my Bad Wolf becomes a powerless, submissive Omega wolf. At this point, I could still give in and feed my Bad Wolf, but will have made my Good Wolf so strong and grown so appreciative of living from my heart that I would not want to, and would be hard pressed to be tricked. If I feed my Bad Wolf long and consistently enough, my Good Wolf will grow so quiet and weak that, even though I can still always choose it at any time, my mind has become likely too strong for me to ever do so. 

 

This proverb is the perfect metaphor for understanding life. If I understand this metaphor and its nuances, I will understand how life works. Its most important service is how it simplifies life, a concept which has become so complicated and confused in society. The more I live and apply this metaphor to my life, the deeper I find it to be true: it puts the power of my life and my experience back in my hands, in a world where so much is out of my control. I cannot control what happens outside of me, but I can always control what choices I make and how I respond, which is 100% responsible for my experience of life. Regardless of the circumstance, there is always at least one–and typically many–supportive, Good Wolf choice I can make, which empowers me to alchemize otherwise painful, tramautic, debilitating experiences to my benefit. As such, and as it fits so tidily with the wolf theme I have chosen, this Cherokee Proverb of Two Wolves is foundational to my ideology. 

 

Next, I will discuss the topic of anonymity, and why it is a supportive and useful tool for what I am doing here.