What Doesn't Break You Makes You Stronger... or does it!??
Many believe that when someone has a near-death experience, they suddenly get wiser, have a rosier outlook on life... The movie industry definitely supports this view, when the main hero reinvents himself after a tragic event, and comes back stronger and wiser. The truth, though, is that this is not always so...
A Cherokee Legend
A Cherokee elder is teaching his grandson about life.
“A fight is going on inside of me,” he said to the boy. “It’s a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil — he feels angry, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, superiority, lies, false pride, and ego.”
He continued, “The other one is good — he harbors joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside of you — and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The Cherokee elder simply replied, “The one you feed.”
♥
Depression and a New Decision
After I came back from my three gruesome months in comma, at first, I chose to feed the wolf that told me I was fortunate. I felt blessed by all the love and support that surrounded me and looked at the experience as a new opportunity to experience and appreciate life. However, one day, I had this thought that perhaps I was more unlucky than lucky.
I started feeding this other wolf and I fell into a deep depression for a while. These thoughts didn’t serve me in any way. It was clear that the way I thought about what happened shaped my experience about what happened. Once I had this realization, I made a permanent decision about which wolf I wanted to feed.