I was in the throes of self-pity, anger, and frustration with my current feelings about my life situation when this email, cited below, came to me from Jack@balanceinme.com:
There’s an old Cherokee legend you might have heard which illustrates the power of attention.
Time to commence feeding the wolf you want to live with.
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.”
Meditating and embracing mindfulness is not something you do 15 minutes per day and then forget about – it’s a way of life.