Una mañana un viejo Cherokee le contó a su nieto acerca de una batalla que ocurre en el interior de las personas. Él dijo, "Hijo mío, la batalla es entre dos lobos dentro de todos nosotros".
"Uno es Malvado - Es ira, envidia, celos, tristeza, pesar, avaricia, arrogancia, autocompasión, culpa, resentimiento, soberbia, inferioridad, mentiras, falso orgullo, superioridad y ego.
"El otro es Bueno - Es alegría, paz amor, esperanza, serenidad, humildad, bondad, benevolencia, amistad, empatía, generosidad, verdad, compasión y fe.
El nieto lo meditó por un minuto y luego preguntó a su abuelo: “¿Qué lobo gana?”
El viejo Cherokee respondió: "Aquél al que tú alimentes."
An Old Cherokee Tale of Two Wolves One evening an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.’
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’
The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one you feed.’
In the modern world the story ends like this. Maybe you've heard it before. In the age of canned food and oversimplified spirituality, it's worth going a little further to find the true essence. The original native meaning runs much deeper and in the Cherokee tradition the story goes on and on like this ...
The old Cherokee smiled and replied, ... "they both win"
If I choose to feed only the white wolf, the black one will hide behind every corner waiting for me to be distracted or weak. You will jump to get the attention you crave. He will always be angry and always fighting the white wolf.
But if I also recognize the qualities of the black wolf, he is happy and the white wolf is happy. Everybody wins. Because the black wolf also has many qualities; tenacity, courage, bravery, strong determination and great strategic thinking, qualities that I sometimes need and that the white wolf lacks.
But the white wolf has compassion, care, strength, and the ability to recognize what is in everyone's best interest. You see son, the white wolf needs the black wolf by his side. On the other hand, feeding only the black wolf wears you down and you poison yourself with so much anger, that's why the black wolf also needs the energy of the white wolf at his side. Feeding just one would starve the other and that would become uncontrollable or absent. Feeding and caring for both means that they will serve you well and will not do anything that is not part of something good, something vital, ... something greater.
Feed both and there will be no more internal fighting for your attention. And when there is no battle within you can hear the voices of deep knowledge that will guide you in choosing what is correct in each circumstance.
Peace and balance, my son, are the Cherokee mission in life. The man who has inner peace and balance has everything. On the other hand, the man torn by an internal war has nothing. How you choose to interact with those opposing forces within you will determine your life. You can try to starve one or the other, ... or you can decide to feed both. "