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KIDS OF CHARACTER 5/25/2009
The Tale Of The Two Wolves Native American folklore offers wonderful character-building tales. You may be familiar with a classic story of The Tale of the Two Wolves. One evening a Cherokee elder sat with his grandson at the fire to tell him about the battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is Evil. This wolf speaks with anger, envy, jealousy, hatred, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is Good. This wolf speaks with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness and caring, empathy, respect for self and others, generosity, truth and faith. The grandson listened attentively to his grandfather’s word. Then, he asked:, “Which wolf wins?” The wise Cherokee elder looked into his grandson’s eyes and replied, “The one you feed.” The tale reveals the priceless jewel of thought and behavior. Few adults understand it, but those who do can exercise a significant mentoring role with the kids they love. The jewel can be expressed in a variety of ways. Here are a few:
The story of the two wolves reveals a fundamental message for character mentors to share with budding kids of character: What you think about and dwell upon will appear in your life. Thought and behavior are not separate; they are simply two sides of one coin. A character mentor’s significant legacy can be found in coaching a child to understand they have the capability to choose the thoughts they think. The Evil Wolf or the Good Wolf is fed daily by the choices we make with our moment-to-moment thoughts. Character mentors can coach kids to understand that the power to choose our thoughts is at work everyday. Kids and teens can discover that daily practice of feeding \the Good Wolf nurtures habits and behaviors producing a citizen of character.
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