The wolf I feed

Yesterday's rally at City Hall

It was happening all over the country: rallies against the tragedy at the Mexican border and a call to reunite the children who have already been separated from their parents. I am not much of an activist, but I felt it was important to add my body to those gathered together in protest. I know that many of my readers might object to any overt political posts, so I keep my thoughts to myself and away from my blog. Mostly. Sometimes it leaks out a little, like today.

It was raining here in Bellingham yesterday. Pretty much the whole day a light rain fell, but we are used to it, and in the picture, I see only one or two umbrellas. I had my raincoat and rain hat and was just fine. You might notice in the picture that most of the attendees seemed to be little old ladies, just like me. White hairs prevailed, and I saw many of my friends from other activities were there as well. However, young children and their parents were also there in large numbers.

The speakers mostly talked about the injustices we face, but I was particularly moved by a Native American woman who spoke of the early days of this country when her people were systematically separated from each other, and either killed or relocated. It reminded me that our country has been doing this ever since the first settlers usurped Indian lands. This is not new behavior. But that doesn't mean it needs to continue.

As I wandered through the crowd, I was sometimes overcome with emotion, for many reasons, but mostly because there are so many people like myself who really do care about the fate of people we will never know in person. There was no sense of anger or rage, like I often see portrayed in the media, just sadness and solidarity, and a desire to make a difference.

The other day I listened to a podcast that spoke about the parable of the two wolves that live inside all of us. It goes like this, from Virtues for Life:

An old Cherokee 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.”

 As I wandered through the crowd and looked at the signs, smiled at the children, and felt the mutual support and harmony among the crowd, I realized that it would do nobody any good, especially myself, to allow anger to overtake me about what is happening. The feeling of despair and misery I sometimes feel when I watch the news is also not good for me. Depression is just anger turned inwards, so I am actively looking for other ways to heal myself and my world.

My thoughts are a choice I make, just like deciding which wolf I will feed, and I choose to have positive thoughts dominate my mind. I found this interesting post on line: Think Positive: 11 Ways to Boost Positive Thinking. I will read it carefully and take some tips from it; I hope you might think about doing the same, if you think you might need it. It's not just our thoughts that matter, but what we say to others is important as well, and what we say about others.

I've also often used this short little mental note of three things to remind myself before speaking about others is helpful: First, is it true? Second, is it kind? Third, is it necessary? This applies to so many areas of my life, and it's certainly something that makes me feel better if I think of it before speaking.

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This week I went to the movies with my friend Judy to see "Won't You Be My Neighbor?", a documentary about Fred Rogers, who had the long-running TV show for kids for three decades. I only occasionally saw the show, but I watched him enough early on to get the feeling he portrayed of innocence and sweetness. The documentary also has many interviews he gave over the years, and you really sense that here was a gentle soul who wanted nothing more than the best for kids. I didn't know he was an ordained Presbyterian minister, but it makes sense. He just ministered through television rather than in a church. He had two children of his own, and they are extensively interviewed in the documentary.

It was fun to see him interact with Koko, the gorilla who just recently died at the age of 46 and knew sign language so well. I learned that one of my coffee shop friends went to school with Penny, the woman who worked with Koko ever since she was a baby. Penny must be devastated, having lost her dear companion. The gorilla did live a good long life, and she knew she was near the end. I read that one of the last "conversations" she had with Penny, she signed "old" and "patient" with sad eyes. She knew; I think other animals often know better than we do when our time is up. In any event, I highly recommend the documentary and hope you might find the time to see it. Surely it will make its way to Netflix once it's out of the theaters.

Today I will make a special effort to look for the beauty around me, not only in the external world, but my own internal thoughts as well. As Mr. Rogers says, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood." The neighborhood of my mind is looking pretty good right now, since I am almost finished with my Sunday morning post, and I feel the happiness of heading to the coffee shop to hang out with my friends. Sundays are my days that I have regulated the least, and so the day stretches forward with my anticipation of joy. A little time in my garden, finishing my latest book, and another movie with Judy. Sounds good to me!

I hope that the coming week, with our Independence Day holiday right in the middle, will be filled with everything that makes you happy. Don't forget to give thanks for everything that is going right in the world, because I'll be doing that as well and it always helps to have a friend or two along the way. Be well until we meet again next week.