PERIODICALS
Ann Arbor Masonic News Ann Arbor Masonic News (USPS 595-570) 4551 N. Maple Rd. Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105-9614
VOLUME NO. XLXIII
Serving the Masonic Fraternity of Washtenaw County USPS 595-570 JANUARY 2007
NUMBER 192
"We Are Never Alone"
“Two Wolves”
Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage? His dad takes him into the forest... blindfolded...and leaves him....alone.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson About a battle that goes on inside people.
He is required to sit on a stump the whole night... and not take off the blindfold until the ray of sun shines through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night.. he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each lad must come into his own manhood. The boy was terrified...could hear all kinds of noise...Beasts were all around him. Maybe even some human would hurt him. The wind blew the grass and earth... and it shook his stump. But he sat stoically.. never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could be a man. Finally, after a horrific night.. the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he saw his father.. sitting on the stump next to him...at watch... the entire night. We are never alone. Even when we do not know it, our Father is protecting us... He is sitting on the stump beside us. All we have to do is reach out to Him.
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 you feed.”
It is the VETERAN! It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, Who has given us freedom of religion. It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, Who has given us freedom to assemble. Continued page 2