Fighting the ego dog

acrylic, collage on canvas, H 20 x W 24 inch (51 x 61cm)

One of the Sufis‘ favorite metaphors is the dangerous ego-self (al-nafs) as a dog that the Sufi strives to tame and subdue.

This seems very similar to the story about the two wolfs that is being told in the next story, so perhaps there is a universal metaphor here.

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”