Which wolf are you choosing to feed?

A Cherokee elder was teaching his children about life.  He said to them, “A terrible fight is going on inside me.  It is a fight between two wolves.  One is the wolf of joy, love, hope, kindness and compassion.  The other is the wolf of fear, anger, cynicism, indifference and greed.  The same fight is going on inside of you and every other person too.”  The children thought about it for a moment and then one child asked, “Which wolf will win?”  The elder replied, “Whichever one you feed.”

This story is valuable for me at present as I try to consciously redirect a conversation I am currently having with a number of individuals regarding a community development issue.

 

Which wolf are you choosing to feed through your actions?

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Entitlement to expression

I have been challenged lately by the concept of "entitlement to expression".  What factors influence whether someone is able to speak their mind or whether in their doing so they are impacting negatively on others or being destructive to the resolution of the issue at hand?

 Obviously there are guidelines for communicating effectively such as wisdom in one's choice of words, appropriate timing, awareness of the environment in which the conversation is taking place etc but I think what fascinates me is something beyond this.  

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