“Grandfather!” the boy was out of breath as he ran up to his grandfather’s porch. “Would you tell me another story about the two wolves?”
“Sure,” replied the grandfather. “But why are you running?”
“Well…,” the boy said, pausing to catch his breath. “Ever since you told me the story about the two wolves, I have not been able to stop thinking. I never noticed it before. But, now it seems like all I do is think. I think and think and think. About everything. The voices in my head are always going.
“They are constantly going back and forth arguing in my head about the best thing for me to do. The Bad Wolf is always giving me advice and telling me things that get me into trouble. And, the Good Wolf is there, too. But, he is quieter, and I need to listen hard to hear him behind the chattering of the Bad Wolf. But, they sound a lot alike. How can I tell the difference?”
“Now that’s the real question in this life, isn’t it?” replied the grandfather. “It is very hard to tell what to do sometimes. Both wolves have very good reasons for what you should choose to do. Have you noticed that the voices go back and forth, first saying, ‘Now you should do this,’ and then right away, ‘But if I do that, then this might happen’?”
“Yes! But they both sound like they belong to me! Sometimes something happens to me during the day and I can’t even go to sleep at night because they are arguing so loud about what I should do about it.”
“Let me ask you this,” the grandfather said. “What happened to you yesterday that kept you from sleeping last night?”.
“Oh.” The question stopped the boy. He had to think about it. “Well, our teacher asked us to write a paper about what we want to do when we grow up. And, I have so many ideas in my head, it’s driving me crazy!”
The boy was frustrated. “Sometimes, I want to just come and ask you what I should do. I trust you.”
“That’s good. And, I trust you, too. But, why do you trust me to tell you the right thing to do more than you trust yourself?”
The boy was expecting the grandfather to give him a way to know what to do. “Well, you are older and wiser than me.” Now, he sounded a little unsure of himself.
“I am older than you, that is true. But, I can’t give you my wisdom. To simply accept my advice does not help you. It is only my answer to your question, not yours. It is just another voice in your head.”
The boy realized that what his grandfather was saying was true. He was asking his grandfather to solve his problem for him. He leaned a little toward his grandfather and nodded.
“Let me tell you something about the Bad Wolf and the Good Wolf. Have you ever heard the wolves howling at the moon?”
“Sure” the boy replied for they lived in highlands at the foot of mountains that were covered with woods and streams and rocks to climb.
“Well, if you ever go up to Lookout Rock when the moon is up, you might see the two wolves sitting there looking out over the valley at the moon. You may notice that one of the wolves is howling at the moon, while the other one is simply gazing quietly at it. The Bad Wolf is doing the baying because he sees the bright light of the moon, but it gives him no warmth. He thinks it’s light should warm him as the sun’s light does during the day, so he is calling out to the moon, begging it for some warmth.
“Now, the Good Wolf knows that the light of the moon is merely a reflection of the light from the sun, which cannot be seen at night. He does not expect the moon to give him any warmth so he is not disappointed. He is not asking for anything from the moon. He is grateful to the moon for the beauty of its reflection. He knows it is only visible to him because the sun is shining on it from the other side of the earth. He appreciates the moon’s beauty as a gift that reminds him that sun is still there even in the dark, and will return again in the morning to give him warmth.”
The grandfather fell silent for a few minutes, then began again. “You asked how you can tell which wolf is talking to you. The only way to tell is to notice that the Bad Wolf does all the talking. He is willing to take all sides in any argument. And, he will chatter away, about what you did or what was done to you, and what you will do or what will be done to you, for as long as you will listen. That is why the voices in your head sound the same. The Good Wolf simply waits quietly. He is not concerned with the past or the future. The past is gone and will not return no matter how much we think about it. And, the future is only a fantasy we cobble together out of our past memories and desires we have created for ourselves. The only way to hear what Good Wolf is saying is to sit beside him and listen to his breathing. The breath we are taking in at this moment is the only one in which we are alive. We cannot retrieve a breath once it has gone out from us. Nor, can we command a breath to come into us that has not yet been given. When you have listened to the breathing for a while, you will realize that this breathing is your own, and the voice of the Bad Wolf starts to fade away. Then you can begin to sense what the Good Wolf is telling you.”
Once again, the grandfather was quiet for a few minutes. Then he started again. “This is not to say that you are relieved of the responsibility of doing your homework. You must take action in this world. But, if you act from the feelings in your heart, you will take right action, for it is the heart that connects you to the present. And, it is in the heart that the Good Wolf resides. If you understand this, you will be able to recognize your feelings about the things you like to do in the present, and this will help you stop fantasizing about what you might like to do in the future. In this way you will be able to approach your homework with more clarity.”
Now, I will tell you another story.”
***
Watch Your Step
“Once there was a beggar man. He was very poor and during the day he would wait around the market place for one of the merchants to give him a little job to do in exchange for some food. At night, he would sleep in the straw under one of the merchant’s tables. It was usually dry and the cloth the merchants put over their tables in the evening hung down and gave him a little protection from the night chill.
“There was a land owner that came every day to the market to get a pot of yogurt from the dairy farmer. The beggar would help the farmer fill the customer’s bowls and jugs with yogurt, milk and cream. In return the farmer gave the beggar some food and allowed him to sleep in the straw under his stand at night.
“Well, one day, the landowner asked the beggar to help him carry his bowl of yogurt back to his house. He offered to pay him a few coins to do this. The beggar was only too glad for the job, and so they started off together. The landowner carrying some bags of vegetables and the beggar carrying the pot of yogurt on his head. When they reached the landowner’s house, he gave the beggar the coins, and both were pleased.
“The beggar returned to the market place, and with the coins was able to purchase a loaf of bread that the baker had not sold. Now he had something to go with the bowl of yogurt the farmer gave him for helping at his stand. It had been a very good day for the beggar and he was able to sleep a little easier that night with some extra food in his stomach.
“The next day, the landowner returned for more vegetables and yogurt, and once again asked the beggar for help carrying the pot of yogurt to his home. This arrangement continued and became a regular job for the beggar, who was soon able to save some coins each day after he had bought his food.
“It was not long before the beggar started to think about the money he was saving. He thought how he could save enough money to buy a goat. He could tie it up in a vacant field just outside the market place and let it eat it’s fill of grass and weeds. He saw how much the farmer was making at his stand selling his dairy products. He was sure the farmer would give him a good price on a nanny.
“The beggar used his time carrying the landowner’s pot of yogurt every day to plan his new life. The nanny would give good milk and the beggar could sell it to the farmer to add to his table in the market. That would work. And, soon he would be able to save enough from the proceeds from the goat’s milk to buy a billy goat to mate with the nanny. Then, they would have kids and he would need to rent some land from the farmer to keep his goats.
“After some time, the beggar would be able to buy a cow from the farmer, who had always showed him great kindness and who he knew he could count on for support as he started his new life. The cow would share the field with the goats and the beggar could rent part of the farmer’s stand to sell his products. In this way he would, in a few years, be able to purchase some land of his own from the farmer and eventually build a house. Then, he would be able to afford a wife. It would not be long before they had children, and together they could work their little farm. Maybe the farmer would sell him his farm when he got too old to work it for himself and the beggar would let him live there for free because the farmer had been so good to him along the way. The beggar would play with his children and help his beautiful wife, for he knew she would be beautiful, baking the bread in the kitchen. They would sell the extra bread along with their milk and yogurt and butter at their stand in the market place.
“In his revery, the beggar was by now playing in his big yard on his farm with his children. He could hear them laughing and see his wife sitting on the porch watching them cavort. Then suddenly, he tripped over a rock in the field.
“The beggar was very surprised to hear the crash that sounded like a large yogurt pot breaking when he fell.
“’What are you doing? You crazy beggar!’ the landowner cried. ‘Now look, what you’ve done. Not only is my yogurt spoiled, but you broke my best pot, too!’
“The beggar was dazed and confused by the fall. He shook his head and yelled back at the landowner. ‘What are you so upset about? You just lost a pot and some yogurt. My whole life is shattered. I’ve lost my wife and children, my farm, my cattle and goats and chickens…’.
I forgot to mention the chickens in his dream” the grandfather said with a wry smile.
***
