Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Battle Within

     A young boy was once sitting on the river bank with his grandfather when he noticed two wolves playing in the meadow not too far away. One was black with white patches. The other was white with black patches.
     Spellbound, the young boy watched in fascination as the wolves frolicked. Sometimes, the black wolf with white patches  would prevail and pin the white wolf to the ground. Other times,  the white wolf with black patches would prevail and momentarily stand over the black wolf as it struggled to rise from the ground. As they played and struggled for dominance, the grandfather sat and watched his grandson in silence. 
     "Life is a lot like those two wolves in play," he spoke out as he pointed in the general direction of the wolves across the meadow.
     "What do you mean, grandfather?" Asked the child as he turned his gaze from across the meadow and faced his grandfather.
     "We each struggle to feed the wolves inside of us," he responded as he stared straight across the meadow. "One of them is dark, like the black wolf. The other one is light, like the white wolf. Each one seeks to overpower the other. To them, life is just a game."
     "Which one will win, grandfather?" Asked the child in curiosity.
     "Whichever one you feed," he responded quietly.