The Legend of Two Wolves

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In Cherokee folklore, there’s a tale about how an elder teaches his grandson about life.

The Legend of Two Wolves has many variations but goes something like this:

An old Cherokee says to his grandson, “A terrible fight is going on inside of me. It’s a fight between two wolves: the fear wolf and the courage wolf. The fear wolf is evil. He is full of anger, lies, guilt, and resentment. The other wolf is good. He is full of joy, peace, love, and hope.”

The grandfather looks at his grandson. “The same fight is going on inside of you.”

After reflecting upon his elder’s words, the boy asks, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee replies, “The one you feed.”

In contemplating this folktale, it didn’t take me long to make a connection to my own life. For the past thirteen months, I’ve been feeding my fear wolf. Perhaps, you have been too? The inconveniences caused by the lingering pandemic have worn me down. I can feel it in myself. I’m tired, anxious, and resentful. I’ve let the fear of the unknown take up too much space in my thoughts and conversation. This past year, negativity has become a frequent mindset, and as a result, my courage wolf is very hungry.

The Legend of Two Wolves got me thinking about a time in my life when my natural inclination was to stoke the courage wolf: Childhood. 

Most kids grow up dealing with some kind of dread: fear of strangers, being alone, thunderstorms, the dark or unknown. But our parents helped us manage these worries. Like the grandfather in the Legend, our elders urged us to call out our fears, and vanquish them by feeding our courage wolf. 

As a youngster, I was afraid of the dark. So, my parents put a night light in the room I shared with my sister. When I got a little older, and we vacationed at the family cottage in Michigan, my folks gave my sister and me a flashlight and encouraged us to walk to the local Clubhouse for movie night. The flashlight, my parents’ reassurance, and the desire to mingle with summer friends, were instrumental in conquering my anxieties about the night time hours. When we returned from vacation, that episode gave me the confidence to join the neighborhood kids for after-dinner activities. We played tag, red-light-green-light, and hide-and-seek until our parents hollered for us to come in. 

Playing outdoors in the inky black of the evening hours are some of my most precious childhood memories. The humid night air, the freedom of being outside, and playing with kids we knew did not invite fear or trepidation anymore. My sister and I worked with the evening’s gloom and molded it into something to look forward to, something fun. In terms of the Legend, I learned to starve the fear wolf in me by fueling the courage wolf.

So, what do we do now that a year or more of feeding our fear wolves has become another ingrained, bad habit? 

Much like conquering a fear of the dark, powering up the courage to resume “normal” activities is going to take time. It’s not going to be a giant leap forward; progress will be slow, methodical. To use my earlier reference, if the Covid shot is the nightlight, then perhaps attending group events is the proverbially flashlight. The first step in picking up where we left off one year ago. And perhaps over time, booking another cruise or a return trip to Italy won’t feel so risky.

From where I sit today–nearly two weeks after my second vaccine–my attitude is improving. The signs of life popping up all around me do help. The neighbors forsythia hedge is brighter than a tennis ball. Daffodils and hyacinths poke bravely through the hard, dark earth. And my beloved Cubbies are still in the pennant race. These things bring joy and hope- the essence of the courage wolf. By letting these positive emotions take up more space in my heart, the shift from fear to courage is effortless. 

The Legend of Two Wolves may be an old Cherokee fable, but its moral has never seemed more relevant.

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