The Serpent and the Eagle
A little girl asked her grandmother why life is sometimes so painful.
Her grandmother looked at her, considering a moment before speaking.
“We all have an eagle and a serpent inside of us. The serpent brings thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, and the idea that it is other people that cause us to feel that way.”
She paused, and then continued.
“The eagle flies high, sees far,
and hopes to learn from the Great Spirit and to follow the Spirit’s way.”
“My granddaughter, life gets difficult during those times when the eagle and the serpent are locked in a necessary and mortal fight to the finish.”
The granddaughter pondered for a while what her grandmother had just told her. Then she asked,
“Which one wins?”
Grandmother answered,
“The one you feed wins.”
Adapted from a First Nations story about two wolves fighting within us.
Her grandmother looked at her, considering a moment before speaking.
“We all have an eagle and a serpent inside of us. The serpent brings thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, and the idea that it is other people that cause us to feel that way.”
She paused, and then continued.
“The eagle flies high, sees far,
and hopes to learn from the Great Spirit and to follow the Spirit’s way.”
“My granddaughter, life gets difficult during those times when the eagle and the serpent are locked in a necessary and mortal fight to the finish.”
The granddaughter pondered for a while what her grandmother had just told her. Then she asked,
“Which one wins?”
Grandmother answered,
“The one you feed wins.”
Adapted from a First Nations story about two wolves fighting within us.
