Depression has a big appetite and if you’re not careful it will eat you up.
It’s especially voracious during the holiday season probably because there’s so much good cheer it doesn’t get fed as much.
I was thinking about how hard the holidays can be for people who struggle with depression/anxiety, and all forms of mental illness. It can be excruciating to think everyone else is having a good time but you. Depression finds those people just like an animal finds its prey.
So I was so pleased to find a post by Therese Borchard in which she recounts an old Indian legend about two wolves. Her entire post can be read here. (I added the pictures.)
With Depression, the Wolf You Feed Is the Wolf That Wins
Published Dec 9, 2014
There is a Cherokee legend about an elderly brave who tells his grandson about life.
“Son,” he says, “Within all of us there is a battle of two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other wolf 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 of you, and inside every other person, too,” explained the wise Cherokee elder.
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The grandfather simply replied, “The one you feed.”
So the sixty million dollar question is: “Which one are you feeding?”
God bless and I hope you have a good day.
