INSPIRATION AND FINAL THOUGHTS 265meditation teacher, Achaan Chah, “If you let go a little, you will have a little
peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely,
you will know complete peace and freedom” (Kornfield and Bretier 1985, 73).
The time to become free is now.
You always have this choice. You are empowered to make choices today
that can positively shape your destiny. Despite the challenges of the past,
never underestimate the power of now. By shifting your thoughts and beliefs
and then acting with clear intention, you can change your life. You can even
change the world!
Feeding the Wolf
In the Native American tradition is a story about a grandfather sitting around a
camp fire one evening with his two grandchildren. With the moon illuminating
the sky and the wood crackling in the fire, the grandfather tells the story of
two wolves fighting. It’s bigger than a fight, it’s an epic battle. The grandfather
explains that one wolf is symbolic of the ego and represents anger, fear, guilt,
resentment, jealousy, and ignorance. The other wolf is symbolic of spirit and
represents love, courage, kindness, generosity, and wisdom. When the grand-
kids ask, “Which wolf wins the battle?” the grandfather replies, “The one that
you feed the most!”
Every time you get onto your yoga mat and every time you sit on your
meditation cushion, you are feeding your good wolf. The more you practice
and the more you bring your practice into the world, the stronger that good
wolf becomes. The things you feed become stronger and the things you starve
become weaker. So, which wolf have you been feeding? Be honest with yourself:
Which wolf have you been feeding? If you haven’t been feeding your good
wolf, then make the decision, from the depth of your being, to make the switch
now. You got this and I believe in you.
Once your good wolf becomes strong, take it a step further and start feeding
the good wolf within all the people you know. Feed the good wolf within your
kids, family, coworkers, community members, strangers, and especially your
enemies. This is how it works. When you transform your internal environment,
you will transform your external environment.
It won’t always be easy and that’s OK. Sometimes you will be successful
and other times you will fail. There is no need to worry about being perfect.
Imperfections are woven into the fabric of our humanity. If you want to perfect
something, work at perfecting your compassion, work at perfecting your love.