You may have heard the story about the wolves. That inside of you, there are two. One is angry and full of hate. The other, calm. Full of kindness and understanding (the story was said to have originated with the Cherokee people, although its origins are unknown). I remind my children of this story often, especially when they are having big feelings.
I have to remind myself more.
The truth is that we all have beasts inside us. We are calm. We are chaos. We are afraid. We are curious. We are angry we didn’t get there first. We have admiration for the person who did.
Every time you rehearse worst-case scenarios, worry gets fed.
Every time you defend your limits, insecurity gets fed.
Every time you gossip, jealously gets fed.
But.
Every time you take a deep breath, a true moment of reflection, peace gets fed.
Every time you set a boundary, self-respect gets fed.
Every time you try again, resilience gets fed.
Whatever beast you feed can grow strong enough to carry you. Or eat you.
I suppose the choice is yours.
So feed the beast you’d like to keep.