cherokee story

An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me... It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, pride and superiority. The other wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside of you and every other person too."

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied... "The one I feed."

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this dichotomy applies so well to someone with an eating disorder, especially in recovery. you may feel like dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, with two voices in your head always in conflict. but like the cherokee said, the one that wins is the one you feed- and in our case, this is meant in a literal sense- but it also means the side you choose, the side you support, nurture, and believe... that's the one that is going to win. and there WILL be a winner in the end. that fight does not last forever or for very long; either you keep moving forward in recovery, or you submit to the ED voice and you go backward. it is totally up to you.

you have all the power you need right now to recover- it just consists of listening to that healthier voice, whether that is your own or someone else's, and telling those ED voices and urges to STFU until they do for good.