Muse 009: Spirit & Two Wolves
Origin Story
In Greek and Roman mythology, a muse referred to each of nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus (god of sky and thunder) and Mnemosyne (goddess of memory), who preside over the arts and sciences. The above is, of course, the definition of a muse as a noun but it can also be used as a verb. That can be defined as “ to be absorbed in thought” or “say to oneself in a thoughtful manner”. I like all of this as it relates to what I intend these writings will to be for both myself, as well as, anyone who finds value in them.
Spirit & Two Wolves
I listened to a wonderful Joe Rogan Experience over the weekend that featured Russell Brand where their discussion illuminated several points that brought me to the realization that we all have a mind (of course), body (duh), and spirit (…). This last one has been talked about a lot in modern religion but I guess I’ve never totally understood what was meant by it. The propaganda of the last few years with regards to COVID, and the rise of fascism, which is just the corporatization of politics and the politicization of corporations, I mean how else can you describe the current “free market” in the United States of America? While I am there, that sure is a funny way to describe our nation when you have Ukraine seemingly being added to the mix by edict, I mean the former Federal Reserve Chair under Obama and current Treasury Secretary under Biden was in Ukraine, during a war mind you, wearing a lapel pin that displays Ukraine and the USA on an equal footing. I mean unequivocally no, just no.
This brings me to the point of today’s muse, the spirit. Joe and Russell’s conversation really shown light on this for me. Said basically, your spirit is what is telling you to continue when your mind and body want to give up. Imagine yourself running a marathon presuming you trained a bit and can actually run a marathon. At some point during the run, for me it was around mile 19, you just want to give up. Your body, especially your feet, is hurting and your mind is lobbying very hard for your body to just give up and quit but you don’t. What is that thing telling them both to f^ck off? It’s your Spirit and now it all makes sense. You can train your body with things like weightlifting, running, biking, and so on. You can train your mind with things like studying, reading, meditating, and so on. So, of course, you can train your spirit and you do this by doing hard and difficult things like cold plunges, marathons, saunas, and so on. Made me think of one of my favorite stories, The Legend of Two Wolves. It goes like this:
A young boy came to his Grandfather, filled with anger at another boy who had done him an injustice. The old Grandfather said to his grandson, "Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and hate does not hurt your enemy. Hate is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." "It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so and in the right way. But the other wolf is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper." "He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger because his anger will change nothing. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me because both of the wolves try to dominate my spirit." The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which wolf will win, Grandfather?" The Grandfather smiled and said, "The one I feed."
We all have a Spirit and we feed it daily, whether overtly or covertly. Is your spirit being guided by a set of values or principles? Is it being fed with good or evil energy? These are a couple of the questions that we must face as a society.