Which Internal Wolf Do You Feed? The one of fear and ego or the one of humility and love?

One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

One is evil. it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. it is joy, peace love, hope serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson though about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?…”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed.”

Back in September 2017 Tony Fahkry began his blog with this story. He continued with this statement:

“The answer lies in knowing darkness is simply the absence of light.” You can check out more following the links below.

I thank you Tony Fahkry for the inspiration as I will use the Cherokee story and his reflections to spring board this blog in tribute to someone who has deeply inspired me, Carol Ponti, another hero in my life. An extraordinary ordinary person, doing extraordinary things! Carol you are joy and light! You have experienced darkness and have battled through to shine your resilient rays of happiness.

Carol is another hero who I happened to meet by enrolling in AquaFit at the North Langford Recreation Centre. Carol coordinates all the social gatherings for the Aquaducks. The Aquaducks are a group of ladies, of varied ages who participate in water aerobics. They are an exceptionally wise, warm and welcoming group. Carol’s personal story of triumph personifies the love and strength of character reflected in many of this group’s member’s stories. Who better to coordinate and nurture this group than Carol?

Carol hails from Great Britain. She has always been a ball of energy, cooking for the family at 11 years of age and babysitting her brother and sisters. Mothering and leadership came to her naturally. She attended college at 16 for culinary training and by 18, she was married then purchasing their first house at 19. At 21 she and her hubby moved to Victoria where they eventually started a family, having a girl then five years later a boy. When her children were in their teen and preteen years, Carol and her husband separated.

At this time her energy and resilience as a single mother went into over drive as she took on two more part-time jobs while working full time at the Camosun College’s Culinary School. Now if you think she was exhausted, nope she managed to keep her fitness levels up and became a huge cyclist 10 months of year riding on average 30  km a day. Sunshine and determination kept her exceptionally busy and serving others.
Sixteen years ago, just after her first grandson was born, darkness fell in her life, ironically on a brilliant sunny day, she was in a near fatal bike accident when a driver, didn’t see Carol and they collided. Carol flew off hitting the ground breaking her back, 6 broken ribs, a broken pelvis, a collapsed lung and soft tissue injuries to her shoulder and knees. A catastrophic accident! Many people would immediately defer to the blame game, victim, and pessimism but not Carol. She chose to see light. The good wolf prevailed. Her reflections on that fateful day is one of forgiveness. She says, “I felt really bad for the driver as I know if the roles were reversed I would feel terrible.” It took her 2 ½ years before she could return to work.

One of the hardest things for Carol, wasn’t the injuries or the trauma of the accident but it was to accept help as she has always been the leader and nurturer. A friend said to her, “Okay now we can help you, you are always doing things for us!” Carol learned this was a major life lesson she needed to accept. She persisted through rehab, got through her emergency gallbladder surgery and continues to work at strengthening her body through gentle exercise.

Last year she retired from 36 years at Camosun College. It was a bittersweet moment. Camosun missed her smile, optimism and tenacity.

Now with time on her hands Carol can devote her time to her knitting artistry! She has produced the literacy mice which I have featured in previous blogs and posts. Recently I commissioned her to create a wing scarf/shawl and a pair of dragon gloves. I found the pattern featured on Facebook and it stated an easy intermediate. Nope, definitely an advanced project. This project took hours upon hours with Carol meticulously recording stitches on post its. This piece is truly an outstanding piece of knitting art wear. Carol thank you I’m gobsmacked! I also adore the dragon gloves, so precious. Already a friend has commissioned her t create dragon gloves for her two grandchildren (Maybe some of you might be interested in making a similar request?)

Carol Ponti you are a marine of hope, resilience and joy. Thank you for being a role model for us all, showing us how to choose the good wolf!

The picture of Carol (below), on the left is with Tara our mutual dear friend. Yes, we are one big happy family up here at Bear Mountain.

Dazzle’s Challenge:

  • Think of someone in your life who has inspired you. Speak to them. Tell them. Even consider writing a letter or poem to them. Be specific. Celebrate their strengths. Hmmm Father’s Day is Sunday maybe that person could be the special father in your life.

Quick Take Away Links:

Carol (left) and Tara. 

Which Internal Wolf Do You Feed? The one of fear and ego or the one of humility and love?

One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

One is evil. it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. it is joy, peace love, hope serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson though about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?…”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed.”

Back in September 2017 Tony Fahkry began his blog with this story. He continued with this statement:

“The answer lies in knowing darkness is simply the absence of light.” You can check out more following the links below.

I thank you Tony Fahkry for the inspiration as I will use the Cherokee story and his reflections to spring board this blog in tribute to someone who has deeply inspired me, Carol Ponti, another hero in my life. An extraordinary ordinary person, doing extraordinary things! Carol you are joy and light! You have experienced darkness and have battled through to shine your resilient rays of happiness.

Carol is another hero who I happened to meet by enrolling in AquaFit at the North Langford Recreation Centre. Carol coordinates all the social gatherings for the Aquaducks. The Aquaducks are a group of ladies, of varied ages who participate in water aerobics. They are an exceptionally wise, warm and welcoming group. Carol’s personal story of triumph personifies the love and strength of character reflected in many of this group’s member’s stories. Who better to coordinate and nurture this group than Carol?

Carol hails from Great Britain. She has always been a ball of energy, cooking for the family at 11 years of age and babysitting her brother and sisters. Mothering and leadership came to her naturally. She attended college at 16 for culinary training and by 18, she was married then purchasing their first house at 19. At 21 she and her hubby moved to Victoria where they eventually started a family, having a girl then five years later a boy. When her children were in their teen and preteen years, Carol and her husband separated.

At this time her energy and resilience as a single mother went into over drive as she took on two more part-time jobs while working full time at the Camosun College’s Culinary School. Now if you think she was exhausted, nope she managed to keep her fitness levels up and became a huge cyclist 10 months of year riding on average 30  km a day. Sunshine and determination kept her exceptionally busy and serving others.
Sixteen years ago, just after her first grandson was born, darkness fell in her life, ironically on a brilliant sunny day, she was in a near fatal bike accident when a driver, didn’t see Carol and they collided. Carol flew off hitting the ground breaking her back, 6 broken ribs, a broken pelvis, a collapsed lung and soft tissue injuries to her shoulder and knees. A catastrophic accident! Many people would immediately defer to the blame game, victim, and pessimism but not Carol. She chose to see light. The good wolf prevailed. Her reflections on that fateful day is one of forgiveness. She says, “I felt really bad for the driver as I know if the roles were reversed I would feel terrible.” It took her 2 ½ years before she could return to work.

Carol (left) and Tara. 

One of the hardest things for Carol, wasn’t the injuries or the trauma of the accident but it was to accept help as she has always been the leader and nurturer. A friend said to her, “Okay now we can help you, you are always doing things for us!” Carol learned this was a major life lesson she needed to accept. She persisted through rehab, got through her emergency gallbladder surgery and continues to work at strengthening her body through gentle exercise.

Last year she retired from 36 years at Camosun College. It was a bittersweet moment. Camosun missed her smile, optimism and tenacity.

Now with time on her hands Carol can devote her time to her knitting artistry! She has produced the literacy mice which I have featured in previous blogs and posts. Recently I commissioned her to create a wing scarf/shawl and a pair of dragon gloves. I found the pattern featured on Facebook and it stated an easy intermediate. Nope, definitely an advanced project. This project took hours upon hours with Carol meticulously recording stitches on post its. This piece is truly an outstanding piece of knitting art wear. Carol thank you I’m gobsmacked! I also adore the dragon gloves, so precious. Already a friend has commissioned her t create dragon gloves for her two grandchildren (Maybe some of you might be interested in making a similar request?)

Carol Ponti you are a marine of hope, resilience and joy. Thank you for being a role model for us all, showing us how to choose the good wolf!

The picture of Carol, on the left is with Tara our mutual dear friend. Yes, we are one big happy family up here at Bear Mountain.

Dazzle’s Challenge:

  • Think of someone in your life who has inspired you. Speak to them. Tell them. Even consider writing a letter or poem to them. Be specific. Celebrate their strengths. Hmmm Father’s Day is Sunday maybe that person could be the special father in your life.

Quick Take Away Links: