Saturday, February 19, 2011

Good Wolf/Bad Wolf


Good Wolf-Bad Wolf

“A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them, ‘In every life there is a terrible fight—a fight between two wolves.  One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, and deceit.  The other is good: joy, serenity, humility, confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion.’  A child asked, ‘Grandfather, which wolf will win?’  The elder looked him in the eye.  ‘The one you feed.’”

There is no doubt that these are words of wisdom.  They mirror Paul’s words to the Galatians (5:21-22), where he explained that the fruits of the spirit are, “love, joy, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  I am certain that both elders are wise, but I think we also have to give the bad wolf his due.  Even bad wolves have to eat, you know!

We humans do have an equal measure of good wolf/bad wolf, and our inner landscape is a dueling field much of the time.  We certainly need to feed and love the good wolf, but we should also be aware that in the shadow of that good wolf—the one we like for people to see, the one that we like to look at in the mirror—lurks the bad wolf, who is lean and hungry and in need of some attention.  We can suppress and deny that bad boy only so long and then, when we least expect it, he will spring out and eat some unsuspecting riding hood in one ferocious gulp!  He’s got to live too and he is no Disney character!

Making friends with the bad wolf may feel a little dangerous, even taboo, since he casts a dark shadow on our goodness.  But failing to recognize and respect him presents an even bigger danger.  When that happens, we will unconsciously project his ugly shadow onto everybody who rubs us the wrong way.  Before we know it we’re casting other people as agents of the evil and seeing ourselves as avenging angels of light, liberty and freedom.  That gives us permission to unleash the bad wolf on them and feel righteous in doing so.

I’m a little embarrassed to say that my bad wolf is fat and sassy.  He has a good side too, believe it or not.   Given a little nourishment (and a good brushing), he turns out to be an absolutely essential friend.  He protects me when old goodie-two-shoes is just being POLITE and making NICE.  That bad wolf cleans up to be pretty saucy and handsome, and he has a wicked sense of humor.  Truly, I think that God---being God and all---wouldn’t have given us the bad wolf if he weren’t a blessing too!  Can I hear an Amen for the bad wolf?

Keeping the faith,
Jane

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