From granny, with love…


If a picture can be worth a thousand words, an anecdote can colour your future. A photo gives you an idea of something that you may not be able to explain in many sentences. Similarly, you may come across an anecdote that mirrors uncommon wisdom, which even a fat philosophy book may not. Myriad shades of a tiny tale sometimes make our life vibrant and meaningful. Small incidents have always paved way for major inventions and innovations. Small is beautiful, short is sweet and simplicity is elegant. In anecdotes, lesser is nicer…
In childhood, all of us loved short stories, those grandma’s tales. Why us alone, such tales have also enriched the richest man of the world Bill Gates. He says he has grown up listening to wonderful and meaningful stories from his granny and today, he often makes it a point to share his experience with his grandchildren! These tales are treasure troves to cherish forever.
Not every child is fortunate enough to get it first-hand from grandma or grandpa, yet, it’s available at our fingertips, on the Internet. I revisit my old days when such tales are circulated through emails. As adults, we can do much more with the anecdotes. One such story arrested my attention. It was pretty short but deep. Though it didn’t come from a granny, it had her wisdom.
It was about the battle between the two wolves within us; one evil and other good. Granny tells a tiny tot, “One is Evil -  It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. Other is good- It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.” Eager to know which one wins, the tiny tot seeks answer. “The one you feed…,” the granny quips. 
Sweet and simple to understand and damn difficult to put into practice, isn’t it? How many of us have fed such evil wolves? Every person has two-sides, plus and minus, good and bad and positive and negative. It’s up to us as to what to let dominate. It takes a lot of heart to identify an evil one and kill it. You feed it a little and it gains strength. If evil wins, we get a setback. Let’s feed good a lot and lot and lot. It may take long but nourish it and make it so strong that it reigns supreme.
After all, both wolves are part of us. Starve the evil wolf. Hungry, it will die eventually. At the same time, not only feed the good wolf but also make it fit to fight the most ferocious of evils.
The anecdote is complete in itself. Short and sweet, it drives home its message. Such anecdotes do make life meaningful. Thank you grandma!
-KanChan

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