Dear Friends,
My friend Laurie retired from her corporate job a year or so ago and was lamenting how tough it is to stay positive at a time when bad news is all around us. Take your pick: the war in Ukraine, inflation, gun violence, and too many others. As she has more time now to delve into news stories, she finds herself increasingly angry and depressed. I can see why. However, I told her that my mother always asserted that each of us has a choice on how to react to things. My mother would have strongly supported the story that follows.
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
My takeaway from this story is that there is a perennial battle between good and bad in each of us. We choose which wolf will prevail by what we feed our brain, our spirit, our bodies. Among other things, I justify not watching television or being glued to social platforms as one way I don’t feed the bad wolf (I’m not strong enough to resist the media barrage!) I also indulge in things that make me feel good when I’m feeling overwhelmed or sad (for example, I swear by dark chocolate to get me through tough times, ditto with talks with friends, a long walk on the trail in my neighborhood, a good book, and a new quilting project). I imagine you have other ways of feeding the good wolf and starving the bad one. I’d love to hear your story!
I’m part of the baby boomer generation and among other traits that define our generation is the belief that we can change things. I believe it begins with acknowledging our power to make choices in every aspect of our lives. Here’s to celebrating our independence and our freedom to choose which wolf to feed.
Finally, now that we’re emerging from the pandemic, we’re returning to showcasing some of our members. This month, we feature Gwen Rulona who is Secretary-Treasurer with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 480.
Best,
Cora
