After a lot of looking for a good quote this month, I came across this one. It has nothing to do with my original intent with this series, which was and is illuminating the truth to those that would incorrectly claim or believe this country was founded on x-ian principles. Even a cursory search on the subject will quickly lay those claims to rest, and it is quite irritating to continuously hear it said. Anyway…
Having a grumpy teenager in the house, this one resonated with me, and what the hell, this is my sandbox I can build castles and moats, and bomb them with rocks if I want to. The quote, which is only attributed as a Cherokee proverb:
Indeed.
Evidence Based Reality 
I have always felt like those kinds of parables are a little bit misleading, simply because it sort of paints a black and white image of the world. I am not even certain that good and evil are not wholly valuable concepts because they are subjective and what is good and evil are not always clear. I prefer the more think that things lie on a spectrum between extremes. Those extremes in themselves are perhaps not even well defined. For instead a common example in regards to lying is that it is not always bad. There can be lies that actually are beneficial, at least in the moment. Perhaps they are not big lies, but sometimes it is more important to spare someone’s feelings than be honest if they are not in a position to accept that truth. I think it can be helpful to feel angry at times, provided you direct that anger positively. There maybe moments when being bold instead of humble is the right course of action. Even if humility is an ultimately more important quality. Maybe in the context of this parable it’s important to note that we need both those wolves. Maybe one should always be kept weaker, but I think if you let that “evil wolf” die you might also be taking away something important. Something that you might need at an important moment. I guess I’ve always been one to think that maybe we have to know the darkness to really know and appreciate the light.
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A very good point. We do need both wolves to be complete.
We just don’t need that negative wolf to be our primary focus and influence on our perspectives.
As mentioned in the post, I have a grumpy teen in the house. He is right now so much a cup half empty person. “I don’t like school.” “I dont want to do _____.” Grump grump grump. I tell him it takes twice as much effort to be a grump than to have a positive outlook. I tell him there is no need to take everything so seriously. I tell him to chill. I tell him that we are here for him, and I was a kid going through a lot of this stuff too. I have not forgotten what it is like and I have his back. He just right now prefers lemons and sour apples to any of the other possibilities.
I am pretty sure it is just a teen phase thing, that he will grow out of, but in the here and now, it does get tedious.
15 or 16 years from now, I want you to come back here and tell me how it is going for you 😉
…hope all is well with you and yours.
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Haha. Believe me I wasn’t criticizing, and yes I am sure that it is likely I will experience the same. Although I was always a rather optimistic person and easy going. At least outwardly even if inside I had my doubts. I always described myself as a realist who just preferred to look on the bright side of things even as a teenager. lol
And certainly I agree that it is never good to let the darker wolf dominate, but I do think it is just a teen thing. I mean I remember at 13 or so really becoming aware of my dads alcoholism and what it really meant, and how dangerous it was, and why he wasn’t there for me at times. I think a lot of kids once they get to around that age they really start to become aware of how much bad is in the world as well. Dropping your ice cream cone on the ground isn’t much of a reason to cry anymore, and the things worth crying about are pretty dark. It definitely takes some getting used to. I got through a lot of it with some good music with darker lyrics like Pink Floyd. I found it comforting just knowing that there were other people experiencing similar emotions or perhaps even worse and that sort of made me feel better about my situation! lol Of course my parents were “concerned” about the music I listened to, but I never acted moody and depressed so they didn’t worry too badly (I don’t think!).
I think he will come out of the phase, and the reason I think that is because of what you said. “You got his back”. I believe kids know that, somewhere inside even if it’s beneath the surface. 🙂
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