“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall
With all that is going on, it’s easy to overlook or forget that we – each of us – are important. What we do or don’t do – counts! Henry Ford and Einstein both wanted us to know that. Ford told us “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Einstein described it this way: “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” Think about it – if our choice didn’t make a material difference, how could it be our most important decision? Making a vital difference makes it so important!
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Wayne Dyer
The Nanticoke Indian Tribe’s tale, The Tale of Two Wolves describes it this way.
“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 thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins.”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed!”
The timeless insights and truths in this tale are clearly playing out today. One can look in any direction, even within, and see, feel and experience these insights creating peace, joy and hope or increasing anger, pain and destruction – depending upon whichever wolf you feed.
It’s easy, even reasonable, to question or doubt how the little negative things we do affects the big picture. Consider Buckminster Fuller’s insight, “There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” Similarly, there is little, if anything, telling us there’s another way, a better way, awaiting us to choose it. It’s counterintuitive to even think that by our choosing differently, today’s disruptions can and will transform. Similarly, from caterpillar to butterfly, our life metamorphoses to that which we focus on. Our focus, the energy of our attention, feeds our wolf.
Similar to the Good thing, Bad thing, Who knows story in “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People,” this story illustrates it is our own perception leading us to the choice we make. Looking around at the anger, pain and disruption affecting, engulfing the world, I encourage you to ask yourself: Really – Is this the best I can do?
Then, feed that wolf, make those choices! Be inspired by Galileo encouraging us with “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them” and “Who would set a limit to the mind of man? Who would dare assert that we know all there is to be known?”
We live the story we tell ourselves. In “How You Can Write a New Story,” I review how to write ourselves a new story. It is our choice!
In “Life’s Greatest Adventure,” I shared how I use music to inspire and keep myself on track in Being the change I want to see.
To that end, I’m sharing Choose.
Though Carmen Moshier, my friend and mentor has departed this world, she produced her music to inspire and guide those receptive and she authorized me to introduce you to her music. Once you know her music you can find her on most streaming services.
I invite you to visit her website at or my website at for a full listing of her music, including links if you wish to listen or make a purchase.
Buckminster Fuller encouraged us with many insights, including these 2:
“I’m not trying to counsel any of you to do anything really special except dare to think. And to dare to go with the truth. And to dare to really love completely.”
Furthermore, if you are wondering how to change the world, Buckminster Fuller said: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” Be the change you want to see, and you will have your new model.
Everything we can do we didn’t need to believe we could. We didn’t need to understand the principles of “how to” nor did we need to positively think our way through it.
We needed a model, encouragement, and to practice. Somethings took relentless practice, while some things came naturally with only a little or moderate practice. It all took practice.
Our models may be real or imagined; our encouragement may be external or internal, and our practice real or imagined. Regardless, “Build it and they will come!” Practice enough we can do it!
Until Next Time,
Joe