Inner wolves
By cripfemme
@cripfemme (7698)
United States
January 21, 2009 1:35pm CST
Many deep things were said at the National Prayer Service which I watched on Fox News. It's probably the longest I have ever watched Fox News in one sitting in my whole life, but that's another subject. Two things I really liked were that there were lots of women in Pastoral roles on this occasion, the first time this has ever happened according to commentators, and that it was such an interfaith ceremony. There were Jews, and Hindus, and Muslims and they all presented.
The deepest thing that was said was said by Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins. She told a Cherokee story, which was a particular interest to me since I'm part Cherokee, way long time ago but still part. A little boy was sitting with his grandfather in the story and the grandfather told him that in every human being two wolves existed. One wolf was selfish and vengeful. The other wolf was neighborly and God fearing. The little boy asked, in the way that children do, "Grandpa, which wolf wins?" The grandfather told him, "Whatever wolf you feed."
This makes a lot of sense to me. We all have our good and bad impulses, things we would rather not do although we know we should, things we would like to do if we thought we could get away with them, it's part of being human. Every day every human, including Barrack Obama perhaps even more so now because he's president and has all that power, must choose which wolf to feed because you can't feed both.
I try, as I think most people do, to feed the good wolf. Of course, I'm not always successful. No one is. One of the ways I'm trying to do that, especially now, is to return to my community organizer roots and work on activism even if I don't have enough money to go everywhere I want to go. There are things you can do, things all of us can do without leaving the house. Another thing I'm trying to do is allocate part of my food stamps budget, which I previously allocated for junk food, to buying real food for people in need. I figure they're happier because they're getting food, my soul is happier because I'm helping people, and my waistline is happier because it doesn't really need another bag of cookies.
How do you choose to feed your good wolf?
2 people like this
1 response
@celticrogue (450)
• United States
21 Jan 09
I try to act as a gentleman. I heed my grandfather's advice: if you cannot say something good about a person, then say nothing.
I am also an information-driven person. I usually do not speak out on a subject without having "all the facts". When I feel like I have all the facts that I will be able to get, then I will have my say.
I do not subscribe to neither the extreme left or right. To me, both sides use fear and posturing to manipulate a person's anger to get them to accept their sides 'spin'. It is like the old adage: Is your glass half-filled or half-empty? I prefer the half-filled.
I live with the view that people are basically good. I tend to trust people until proven elsewise.
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