I read this short story the other day:
A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he
felt.
He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart.
One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the
loving, compassionate one.”
The grandson asked him, “Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?”
The grandfather answered: “The one I feed.”
The one I feed, indeed! I have two wolves in my heart, too. One that is kind and loving and one
that judges me. This is not unlike Abe’s reaching for the better
feeling thought. But I put a little different spin on it and I call it
feeding the Lover. So with this thought I am thinking: I don’t know why
this isn’t working for me, there are lots of people that say it worked
for them…. who am I feeding? The one who judges or the Lover. Who
do I want to feed? Who cares about me more than anything? Who has the
capacity to love me, to comfort me more than anyone? I do.
It’s a good reminder, with this thought I am thinking, who am I feeding right now? I choose Lover. Who do you choose to feed today?
[...] post today, Feeding the Lover, is just one example of her [...]
Yes! Choosing loving, supportive thoughts vs. negative, damaging ones! At one time, I’d “choose” those negative thoughts automatically, perhaps not realizing I had a choice. Now that I’m more aware, I’ve noticed that those negative thought can have a very seductive voice or whisper…and in that seductive voice they speak a relative truth: “you are used to me, you know me, you are comfortable with me” and if I listen for much time at all, I’ve been caught by them. Not that I can’t get out, but it takes strength and the courage to listen and act on new (and less familiar) beliefs.
Thanks for your comments Shawn. Yes they can become a comfortable pattern. Or as What the Bleep illustrated, the default neural pathway. But we can always build new neural pathways – it’s part of the glory of being physical. Bryon Katie has said: “It’s good that it hurts, pain is the signal that you are confused, that you are in a lie.”