Which Wolf?

Alistair Heslop on nourishing the good within us, one choice at a time.

There’s a story that’s attributed to a number of first nations people around the world about a grandfather and his grandson. One day the two are talking and the old man says, “sometimes I feel there are two wolves inside me fighting one another - a good wolf and a bad wolf. The bad wolf is greedy, unkind and self-centred. The good wolf is kind, compassionate and helps others.”

The little boy is quiet for a little while and then asks, “which wolf will win?” To which the grandfather replies, “whichever one I decide to feed.”

I imagine all faiths have a concept of the good and bad in us all. This story reminds me that I can choose which part of me I feed - the things I do, the people around me, where I work and the communities I belong to all play a part.

Which wolf do you feed? Are the people around you helping you feed the wolf you wish to nourish?

Quakers have a well loved phrase “that of God in everyone”, which some Quakers think of as “that of good in everyone”. The Quaker way encourages us to find our personal interpretation. A number of Quakers explore what  “that of God in everyone” means to them in this blog post.

Written by Alistair Heslop, Oakham Quaker Meeting