Once upon a time, an old sage sitting in the company of some youngsters decided to enlighten them about the battle that goes on in people’s minds. He calls it The Battle Of The Two Wolves.
“One is Evil (The Gremlin). It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, false pride, ego.”
“The other is Good (The Genie). It is joy, love, optimism, hope, serenity, kindness, humility, benevolence, forgiveness, generosity, truth, compassion, faith.”
One of the children asked, “Master, which wolf wins?” He simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Everyone has the inherent capability to do what is right and that which is downright wrong.
We also all have the ability to know what is good from bad. Even though the concepts of good and bad is relative, deep down, our conscience still creates an obvious dichotomy.
So, whatever kind of person you turn out to be, regardless of your reasons, depends on which wolf you feed.
By now you must already be wondering what this has to do with the title. Well, here it is. Its a beautiful story. I promise.
The ninety two year old, petite, well-poised mother in-law of my best friend, who is full dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and make-up perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of seventy years recently passed away making the move necessary. Maurine Jones is the most lovely, gracious, dignified woman that i have ever had the pleasure of meeting. While i have never aspired to attain her depth of wisdom, i do pray that i will learn from her vast experience.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, i provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheet that had been hung on her window. “I love it” she stated, with the enthusiasm of an eight year old having just been presented with a puppy. “Mrs. Jones, you haven’t even seen the room…just wait”.
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time; whether i like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It’s how i arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It’s a decision i make every morning when i wake up. I have a choice: I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty i have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.”
“Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, i’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away…just for this time in life. Old age is like a bank account…you withdraw from it what you’ve put in.” ~ Author Unknown
Culled from Linda Salazar’s Awaken The Genie Within
This story begs a vital question about how we’ve been living our lives. Who is making deposits into your ‘bank account’, your Genie or your Gremlin?
Originally published at medium.com