Run The Hills: The Two Wolves and The Third Thing
Photo cred: Chris Ensminger
Have you heard of the Cherokee parable The Two Wolves? It goes something like this:
An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."
He continued, "The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside 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 old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
When you learn this parable, it burrows itself deep into the caverns of your mind.
Attaching identity and characteristics to these voices battling for your attention allows you to see them clearly - as if bringing them out of the shadows into the light.
The ancient wisdom of the two wolves inside us all battling for our attention is deeply resonant in what Run The Hills means. I'm not just talking about running physical hills, although that can certainly be part of it. Run The Hills is a metaphor for life itself – for tackling the challenges, obstacles, and "uphill battles" we face every day.
In previous articles and posts, I’ve written about Steven Pressfield's idea of Resistance. This concept ties beautifully into the parable of the Two Wolves.
Resistance, as Pressfield describes it, is that inner force that fights against our best interests. It's the voice of fear, self-doubt, and procrastination. In many ways, Resistance is like the first wolf in the parable – the one representing anger, sorrow, regret, and all those negative emotions that hold us back.
When we face a challenge or set a goal, Resistance appears like a wolf on the crest of a hill howling with intimidation. The wolf creeps towards you as if saying very bad things await you on this journey - turn away now.
As you look up at the wolf’s eyes glowing ominously in the distance, a thousand whispers of fear rise inside of you.
But we focus so much on the dark wolf, the rocky terrain, the steepness of the hill, and the whispers, that we forget how far we’ve come, and what’s waiting for us on the other side of the hill. We forget that we have the light wolf by our side, urging us to carry on towards our goal. Nudging his wet nose into the back of our calf, pushing us forward.
This all seems very black & white, or should I say dark & light, correct? But what if I told you that the dark wolf isn’t necessarily bad? What if the dark wolf was a protector, urging you to be careful, trying to warn you of danger?
What if the dark wolf knows of a trap that has been set and is attempting to tell you to seek another path or to move with caution?
This will surely put you directly in the center of a fork in the road.
What shall we do?
The parable taught us that the wolf we feed is the wolf that wins. This perspective makes our decision pretty simple. Feed the light wolf.
However, the dark wolf embodies characteristics the light wolf does not. Aside from embodying the negative traits we fend off in becoming people of integrity, the dark wolf is also fearless, courageous, tenacious, and strategic.
Another variation of the parable suggests we need to feed them both. This version ends with the grandfather saying “If you feed them right, they both win”.
Harmony requires balance. There would be no light without the dark for it to shine through. There would be no positive without the negative.
If we do not acknowledge the dark wolf, he will grow hungry and desperate for attention. If we tend to the dark wolf and do not ignore it, we allow it’s strengths to permeate. If we only feed the light wolf, we allow blissful ignorance to blind us from hidden dangers.
The lesson is balance. The dark wolf will rush ahead with courage, but he may find danger. The light wolf will nudge you forward giving you the positivity you need to carry on, but with knowledge from the dark wolf to prepare yourself for the journey.
This brings us back to Resistance. We compared Resistance to the dark wolf, however with our new context of the alternative parable, Resistance remains on its own, a third thing.
Resistance doesn’t care about our wellbeing. It’s not there to warn us of danger. It’s there to keep us from advancing. To keep us from becoming our better selves.
In fact, Resistance is not the wolf on a hill, it’s a monster in our minds that exists to hold you back and crush your will.
Every time you push through Resistance, you're choosing growth over stagnation, courage over fear, action over inertia. You’re choosing to run the hills.
Marcus Aurelius teaches, "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." This profound statement captures the essence of what I mean by Run The Hills. It's not about avoiding our challenges or wishing for an easier path. It's about embracing those difficulties, understanding that they are not just obstacles to overcome, but the very means by which we grow and advance.
Every time you choose to "run the hill" – to tackle that difficult project at work, to have that challenging conversation with a loved one, to push yourself out of your comfort zone – you're making a choice. You're choosing to feed the wolves and starve Resistance.
Run The Hills is about developing the mindset that sees obstacles as opportunities.
When you're faced with a daunting task or a seemingly insurmountable problem, remember: this is your hill to run. It's not in your way; it is the way.
By embracing the challenge, you're not just solving a problem; you're actively shaping your character and developing mental toughness that will serve you in every aspect of your life.
Leave no regrets. Run the hills.
Chas