The Wolves In Your Heart - An Indigenous Tale With An Important Message
A few years ago, I stumbled upon a video on Happify.com that I shared with our students and staff at assemblies. In the story, an elder explains to a child that we all have two wolves living in our hearts. One wolf (the red one) is full of resentment, anger, jealousy, and self-centeredness. The other wolf (the blue guy) is the opposite. He’s full of benevolence, love, compassion, service, and grace. The two wolves are continually trying to gain power over the other in our hearts. In the video, the child asks, “Which wolf will win?” And the elder simply replies, “Whichever one you feed.”
As educators, we are continually teaching our students how to handle the “red wolf”. This wolf always exists in each of us (adults and children alike) and is longing to be fed. It’s the voice inside us that tells us that we need to look out for ourselves. It tells us that we are the only person that matters. The red wolf says that no one else is as good or as important as we are. But luckily, we each also have that blue wolf living inside of us too. That wolf is the one who tells us to remain positive, to look for the good in each day and each other. That wolf puts others before themselves and approaches life with a servant’s heart. That wolf knows how to accept and love other people. And that wolf, thankfully, is longing to be fed as well.
We teach our students to acknowledge the red wolf, to pay attention to red wolf feelings, and think about why we feel that way. We calmly pay attention to the angry wolf but keep the blue wolf as our peaceful guide.
So, what can we do to ensure we are only feeding the blue wolf? Here are five “blue wolf feeding tips” that we teach our students (but are also good reminders for us as adults).
Surround yourself with blue wolf people. There will always be people who let their red wolf dominate their lives; respectfully distance yourself from them. It is often said that we become like the five people we spend the most time with. Think about five people you most admire and spend your time with them.
Count your blessings. A global pandemic has made this very difficult lately. We are engulfed in uncertainty and surrounded by troubling news. Many people in the world are unable to see the people they love most. This is stressful and unsettling. But, the blue wolf inside us helps to remind us that there are still blessings every day. We just have to acknowledge them and focus on them.
Take ownership and learn from your mistakes- I often say to students who end up in the office that “it’s what happens next that matters most.” Sometimes the red wolf will win...but it is genuinely what we choose to do next that matters. Will we learn and grow? Or will we continue to feed the red wolf and make the same mistakes repeatedly? It shows great strength to be vulnerable enough to say that you made a mistake and you will do better. That strength is the blue wolf, helping you become a better version of yourself.
Do something every day to make someone’s life a little better, and, if you really want to feed the blue wolf: do it anonymously. The red wolf wants everyone to know that you did something nice-the blue wolf doesn’t.
Work on trying to improve yourself and grow every day. Rumi said it best: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Keep feeding your blue wolves, everyone! Feel free to watch the wolf video here.
心中的狼 - 一個表達重要訊息的故事
一年幾前我偶然在Happify.com上看到一個視頻，並在之後與學生及教職員分享。故事中一位長者向孩子解釋人們心中住著的兩頭狼，其中紅色的狼充滿怨恨、憤怒、嫉妒以及自我中心；另一頭藍色的狼正好相反，牠充滿仁慈、愛心、憐憫、樂於助人且待人寬厚；這兩頭狼一直在人們的心裡嘗試控制對方。視頻中的孩子問到：「哪一頭狼會贏？」長者便說：「你餵養哪頭狼，那頭狼就會贏。」
身為一名教育者，我們一直不斷教導學生如何處理一直存在於每個人心裡的「紅狼」（無論成人或小孩），牠都渴望著被喂食得以壯大。「牠」是人們內心的聲音，告訴我們要只顧自己、自身才是唯一重要的人、沒有其他人比自己更優秀、更重要。但幸運的是，我們心裡還住著一頭「藍狼」，「牠」告訴我們要積極向上、每天在每個人身上尋找美好。「藍狼」把別人看得比自己重要，並以仆人的心對待生命。「藍狼」懂得如何接受別人的愛以及把愛傳遞出去，感恩「牠」也渴望被餵食壯大。
我們教導學生認識「紅狼」，關注「紅狼」的感受，思考為何會出現這種感覺，並讓「藍狼」作為和平的嚮導一直伴隨我們，以和平冷靜的心態關注另一頭憤怒的「狼」。
那麼如何能確保自己在壯大「藍狼」呢？以下是我們教導學生的5條「壯大藍狼小貼士」（對成年人而言也起到良好的提醒作用）。
與「藍狼」朋友待在一起。身邊總有人會讓「紅狼」主宰他們的生活，請與這些人保持距離。俗話說近朱者赤近墨者黑，人們會被相處時間最長的五個人影響；因此請想想您最崇拜的五個人，然後花時間與他們一起。
惜福 - 最近一場全球流行的病毒爆發導致人們被不確定性及令人不安的消息圍繞，世界上許多人無法跟所愛的人團聚。但「藍狼」提醒著我們每天仍需珍惜幸福、感受它、關注它。
勇於承擔責任，懂得從錯誤中汲取教訓 - 我經常對需要到辦公室報到的學生表示：「重要的是接下來會發生的後果。」有時候，無可否認「紅狼」會佔據上風，但真正重要的是我們選擇的下一步。會從中學習成長？或是重覆同樣的錯誤以壯大心中的「紅狼」？如果您能示弱的向別人承認錯誤，您便會變得更好。而這就是「藍狼」的力量，幫助自己成為更好的人。
每天做一些能讓別人生活變好的事件。想要壯大「藍狼」請悄悄的做；因為只有「紅狼」才會想讓所以人知道自己做了好事，而「藍狼」不需要以這種方式表現自己。
努力提升自身、每天成長。十三世紀波斯詩人魯米名句「昨日的我很聰明，所以我想改變世界。今天的我充滿智慧，所以我要改變自己。」
請繼續壯大「藍狼」！請點擊這裡觀看動畫
