Two Wolves - A Cherokee Parable with Wisdom Needed Now

reply to post by Open2Truth


Coincidence?

I found this story a couple of days ago. Really spoke to me.

S&F

Originally posted by relocator


"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."

I LOVE that quote, I have heard it before but really appreciated having it brought back into my awareness and posted here for others to see. Also, thanks for adding the link in your post for more resources for those who are interested.

Also, for any that are interested, I thought I would throw in this video about how we can learn from some of the strengths and attributes of the wolf as well.

reply to post by Open2Truth


S&F
because we benefit from stories like this one
i felt cold today, full of sorrows
your effort gave me warmth.
thank you for that

...thank's for posting this..it's quite different if you have the exact words to follow

reply to post by Open2Truth


The Wolf Within was a tale written by Esther Acosta using Native Americans as the main characters.

It is not (to the best of her knowledge) a traditional Native American story although it certainly has that feel to it.

www.civprod.com...

I can't live without my wolves, I have to balance their relation to me and the environment. Feeding neither one to much, unless I take one heck of a vacation away from society, then I can use which ever one I choose to be with and pay the consequences good and bad. Thinking of this opens a can of worms canned by our society.

reply to post by MollyStewart


Thank you for posting the information you did, particularly since the story's origin has been inquired about within the thread.

It appears that there are a number of possibilities in terms of source to the original story. I found a reference to it appearing in a different book in the 70s, but also to claims of it being an oral tradition earlier. I do not wish to disparage Esther Acosta's claims to the authorship of the material, only to point out to those who are interested that there are a number of claims and opinions as to its origin.

Edit to Add: link for those wanting to do further research. Towards bottom of my link are several source links for those wanting more information.

More Information on Parable Origins

Perhaps another poster has reflected this:

I don't believe that the two wolves are necessarily good or bad wolves. They form the pieces of the psychology of human beings... and somewhat the psychology of animals as well.

People who give up egos are those who sit in a cave all day long, all life long. But, their level of caring for the world is dubious.

Yes, feeding the "Good" wolf can be advantageous to a certain extent. But, I don't believe that all of the attributes of the bad wolf are necessarily bad. Take anger: It can be argued that anger serves a purpose - just as sorrow serves a purpose. We are after all human beings and not machines that only process data.

If we were to have been that way, we could wish that we had been created in that fashion instead. That is wishful thinking.

I feel that if you don't feed the "bad" wolf (though I would agree with avoiding greed, arrogance, inferiority, lies (somewhat), false pride and superiority), you would in a nutshell, be a deficient human being.

BTW: Thank you for sharing... nevertheless. I find it curious to see how many people seem to agree.

reply to post by sensibleSenseless


Thank you so much for your post and thoughtful comments.

Personally, I have never taken the parable to mean that the emotions represented by the "evil" wolf (as labeled in the parable, not my description) should be "ignored" at all. I have taken it as meaning that choosing to focus our thoughts, efforts and intentions primarily upon those of happiness, joy, love, compassion, etc. yields a happier, more joyful, loving and compassionate life. So taking it within the context of the parable, I don't see the one wolf being evicted or removed, just not the alpha in charge, choosing the path and leading the pack.

reply to post by Open2Truth

"Thank you so much for your post and thoughtful comments.

Personally, I have never taken the parable to mean that the emotions represented by the "evil" wolf (as labeled in the parable, not my description) should be "ignored" at all."

Yeah that's how I understand it too. I used to wish I could grow up in some village somewhere growing up with wise elders teaching me with rich stories such as this. This "American" world has always put me on edge.

I am about 1/8 Cherokee, but I'm just your average "white" American for the most part. I feel like the little bit of Cherokee I have in my blood fuels my distrust of this modern world, and my search for spiritual expansion and peace.

I have always Identified with the idea of shamans or elders, with their wisdom of age.

I hope when I'm older I have grand kids that I can tell stories to like the Cherokee ones. Maybe the future will be brighter than it looks from here right now, haha

reply to post by Dustytoad


I fully recommend the Law of One books for all - taken as either fiction or non-fiction. There is so much wisdom, imo...

reply to post by Open2Truth


I appreciate your post and, in particular, your added commentary which encourages additional reflection. Thanks.

reply to post by Open2Truth


Thanks for sharing. I wrote down all the attributes of the good wolf on an index card and am putting it on my bathroom mirror.

Lots of friends will see this in their email.

Keep feeding that good wolf everybody.

Originally posted by tagasbob
reply to post by Dustytoad

 

I fully recommend the Law of One books for all - taken as either fiction or non-fiction. There is so much wisdom, imo...

already on the list, but I'm still reading the "Red Book" Carl Jung, for now. I don't view things as fiction or non-fiction, I only try to learn from whatever, however, I can...

There is truth in all things.

There's a John Lennon quote like that. Something like "Messages are there, on all levels and you hear it... ...All answers are in everything. You can look at a flower, and if you look long enough, all the answers are in there.. It's ALL THERE!"

reply to post by Open2Truth


honestly one of the best, most concise parables i've read anywhere, let alone on ATS. thank you!

Thanks for the lesson! Im gonna share this with my son!

reply to post by Open2Truth


thank you for your wonderful and thoughtful thread

may i bring your attention to a book called ‘Wolf Totem’ by Jiang Rong, winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize

a young chinese learns from the wisdom of mongolian nomads who respect and honour the wolf’s strategies. a homage to wolfs, people and life. a book like no other. written so beautifully. i’m sure you would love it

dont look in, look out.

each person in your life creates an emotion in you

find your emotions

who makes you feel love, strength, pride, Horner, curidge, loyalty, hope

then stop taking and start giving

stop drawing the energy out of them and give it back

feed your emotions

i am love that is alls i need
i create energy in myself whitch is given to life as love, i give that love to my life witch is my love, she terns that love into a greater love and gives it back,
her love fills me with a power
i give that power to strength to carry me when im weak, instead of crying he makes me laugh
i give laughter to pride as i laugh at my self whitch gives me stength, with strengh comes respect
i give respect to Horner who horners me back, now with pride i found insperation in knollege
i give my knollege as inspiration to curidge, he was always there an i trust myself when i believe he will realize it for him self
i give trust to loyalty who has let me down but faith tells me he will learn
i give faith to hope who never says never

i keep my freinds close, we give each other a life
we grow stronger every day

like the wolf we cant do it alone

actions speak louder than words
when energy is love, love creats power, the more you give the more you get back
give the people around you the power to live, life gives the power to love, love will give you back power to carry on