The Wolf Within

An old Cherokee Indian chief was teaching his grandson about life. He said, “A fight is going on inside me.” He told the young boy “it is a fight between two wolves.” “The Dark wolf is very bad. He is anger, envy, greed, arrogance, lies and false pride.” Then he said “The Light wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, kindness, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you, grandson . . . . and inside of every other person on the face of this earth.”

The grandson thought for a moment and then asked, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?” The old Cherokee smiled and simply said, “The one you feed“.

Every religious faith promotes good – and denounces evil. Even viewing societal norms, the world encourages kindness and rejects the character of the Dark wolf. I like to think that the concepts of good and evil are woven into the fabric of the universe. Yet. . . why does our world seem to flounder in arrogance, violence and conflict? We may not be feeding the Dark wolf – but many people put the Light wolf on a strict diet when it comes to their personal “feelings” of what is right and what is wrong. What is good and what is bad. To me, the Light wolf deserves large helpings of spaghetti carbonara, sausage, heavily-buttered garlic bread, cannoli and perhaps a nice glass of cabernet.

Which wolf do you feed?

A Warning — Some of the Images are Disturbing

[A repeat from August 23, 2023] How often do we hear on the Nightly News the solemn offering “A warning to our viewers – some of the images are disturbing.” As if a little chaos, a dose of gunfire or a squeal of pain will cause great emotional agony to listeners. I’m not sure when this started but it seems to presume that American society is pretty fragile. Yet. . . .

Donna and I went to the movies a few weeks ago and saw “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” It was okay. Not as good as the first. Or second. But the prelude to the main feature was a series of perhaps ten “coming attractions” that . . . maybe I’m being too kind . . . . were little more than blood, gore, slaughter and carnage. On January 3, 2013, I posted on America’s culture of violence. Our numbing acceptance that our young people can watch movies that glorify horror, death, violence and fear.  Our children play (often for hours on end) the most violent, brutal, cruel and bloody video games.   There is the scalding inhumanity of and bloodlust for ultimate fighting and the degrading and debasing reality television shows where manipulation and back-stabbing win.  Hollywood sinks lower.  And lower.  But – hey – don’t you dare try and impose your values on anyone.   Heaven help you (pun intended) if you bring a Bible to school.  

And yet we hear “A warning to our viewers – some of the images are disturbing.” Really?