An old Indian Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger because a friend had done him an injustice. They sat around a fire under the open starry sky. “Let me tell you a story.” The old man began. “I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they have done.”
The Grandfather looked at his Grandson and said. “But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times.” He continued, “It is as if there are two wolves inside me.”
“One is good and does no harm.” The Grandfather continued. “He lives in harmony with everything around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.”
“But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger.” The Grandfather said with intensity. “The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing.”
“Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.” The Grandfather finished.
The boy looked intently into his Grandfather’s eyes and asked, “Which one wins, Grandfather?”
The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, “The one I feed.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(moral: Do not feed your anger. Anger is like gripping a red hot coal, lifting up, raring back and attempting to throw it at your enemy, only the coal gets stuck to your hand. It will only burn you)
If you kick a stone in anger, you’ll hurt your own foot.
(some quotes on anger)
He who angers you conquers you. ~Elizabeth Kenny
People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing. ~Will Rogers
In certain trying circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity furnishes a relief denied even to prayer. ~Mark Twain
Do not teach your children never to be angry; teach them how to be angry. ~Lyman Abbott
Anger blows out the lamp of the mind. ~Robert G. Ingersoll
Anger is one letter short of danger.
The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk. ~Jacqueline Schiff
The picture at the top can be found as wallpaper here: http://www.fanpop.com/spots/wolves/images/24470067/title/wolves-photo …along with some other fine pictures of wolves.
~Art~
zendictive 
11 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 21, 2011 at 10:26 pm
alpana
Very true words of wisdom.
October 21, 2011 at 5:47 pm
“Please, feed the wolf of love…” | Pocket Perspectives
[…] bloggers post, on Zendictive, with this “Two Wolves” legend” The legend of the Two Wolves on Spirit Lights the […]
December 7, 2011 at 9:04 am
Sue Dreamwalker
Yes which one do we feed.. Anger is One letter short of Danger.. and we need to understand that what we give out eventually returns…. Many thanks
December 18, 2011 at 11:00 am
mysterycoach
I have most certainly had the experience of my two wolves going round and round, that’s for sure. I completely identify with this. Very nice … Love it! Going to go reblog it “right” now.
December 18, 2011 at 7:19 pm
zendictive
I have no link to your blog…(~_~)
place it on your gravatar… google link wouldn’t open?
January 2, 2012 at 1:50 pm
JHH
I love this post.
I get angry at times and find it hard to push it away. Such a briiluant story saying not to feed it.
January 16, 2012 at 7:59 am
rumpydog
This is especially appropriate for me at this time. I listen to NPR and often find myself becoming upset when a news show comes on the air. Politics make me angry, and I have to continually remind myself that I don’t have to live this way- I can turn the darn thing off. And I do. And I feel immediately better.
January 21, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Just Sharing | Just High Heels
[…] https://zendictive.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/two-wolves-anger/ Advertisement LD_AddCustomAttr("AdOpt", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Origin", "other"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_bg", "ffffff"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_border", "bbbbbb"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_text", "333333"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_link", "1c9bdc"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_url", "1c9bdc"); LD_AddCustomAttr("LangId", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "technology"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "books"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "entertainment"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "positivity"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "positive-thinking"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "self-improvement"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "sharing"); LD_AddSlot("wpcom_below_post"); LD_GetBids(); Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. […]
March 9, 2012 at 9:06 pm
WordsFallFromMyEyes
This is so, so excellent. I didn’t realise I had once heard that somewhere, can’t remember where – didn’t realise it until I came to those words “the one I feed”. Excellent, zendictive. Thoughtful, as always.
July 18, 2012 at 2:18 am
WordsFallFromMyEyes
I revisited this one, I thought you should know.
Art, your page is unique. Of all the cruising I’ve done on wordpress I have seen nothing like Zendictive. I commend you because you really do provide a service.
Thanks. 🙂
July 18, 2012 at 8:55 am
art
bows (~_~) humble…. thank you, In all honesty, I do it for myself, my addiction is to read and find stories with a lesson, I hunt them and save them here and of course I dabble in writing some of my own. It comes from with-in and is placed here, rather than a note-book/ electronic age and all. It does warm the heart to know others feel the same. (!_!)