The story of the two wolves.

 In Cherokee Legend, the story goes like this: A grandfather is teaching his grandson about life, about the world, about the nature of good and evil.

The two, one old and one young are sitting around a fire at night. The sky is black, the stars innumerable. The grandfather clears his throat and begins:

“There is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is pure evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

“The other is goodness. He is joy, peace, love, hope serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, charity and faith. 

“The two wolves attack each other relentlessly. They fight on the mountains where the trees can’t grow, the mountains that touch the very sky. They fight in the forest, dark and foreboding. They fight by the shores of the big sea water, rousing the fish in the sea, the deer in the wood and the bird in the sky.

“The fight continues when the sun is high and when the moon rules the sky. The fight continues through the cold of the time of no green to the time of the heat of the sand. The fight never ceases.

“My boy,” the old man continued. “Inside every person, inside you, is the same fight.”

The boy sat straight, making himself big like a man. “Grandfather,” the young boy asked, “which wolf will win? Which will prevail?”

The grandfather picked up a stick and poked gently at the fire releasing a galaxy of sparks. The dry wood of the fire cracked against the silence of the dark night.

“Which wolf will win, grandfather?”

And then the grandfather died.