Two Dogs Fighting

This is a story about choosing your way in life

Back 150 years ago, during the great Indian wars of the west, lived a brave Indian warrior named "Chayet" which means "Great mountain of strength." This fierce old warrior had a son "OiChai" or "Little Mountain", but like many Indian warriors, he never got to see his son grow up because he was killed in battles with the white settlers who encroached on the Indian plains. After Chayet died, his son lived with his grandfather. But, as you might imagine, the boy was still very angry at the death of his father, and as with all of the Indians, angry at the loss of their lands to the white settlers.

As time went on and when the boy approached his thirteenth birthday, all of the young boys in his tribe gathered at a place from which they would make their great journey to adulthood. It was here that each boy would be assigned a task to complete and be brought into their full stature within the tribe. Some of the boys were told to go to the highest Mesa and spend one full moon in isolation alone with their thoughts. There they would find the meaning of life, and then come back and share it with their people. Others were told to capture three wild stallions and tame them as a gift for their people. But when it was Chayet's son's time to go, his grandfather stopped OiChai, saying, "You cannot go little one."

When the boy asked why, his grandfather said, "You have two dogs fighting inside your head. One dog is very angry, and the other has tried to learn the good ways of our people."

The little boy nodded his head in acknowledgment  for he clearly could feel the dog's fight, "But Grandfather, which dog will win this fight?"

His grandfather replied, "Whichever one you feed."

Author unkown