Dodging Arrows

I know that you’ve seen them in a cartoon, the angel and the devil sitting on the cartoon character’s shoulder. The character, in a roundabout way, gets influenced to see two different perspectives about a decision they must make; in essence they are being shown right and wrong. I’ve heard it talked about endlessly, this idea of two alternative characters naturally existing in us. Though hearing it many times, I have also heard it explained in many interesting ways and from several different viewpoints, cultures, and religions. One example that stands out in my mind is an old Native American proverb. It teaches that there are two dogs living inside of us all, an evil dog and a good dog. Each day, these dogs fight to the death, but which one wins?

Now this teaching kind of leaves it up to some kind of fate or chance to decide what kind of person we will become, or what decisions we will make. But if you ask me, I say we always have had, and always will have a choice. Wouldn’t you say that the dog that wins is the one that is stronger? So in all actuality, the dog that you feed or give the most attention to will have the better chance of winning in the long run, and on a more consistent basis, wouldn’t you say?

Well, this idea of being one of two people isn’t just some fairy tale or a cartoon, because believe it or not, there are two different forces at work in you and in me, and have been since we came into this world. There are two different influences pricking at our minds and tugging at our hearts, not forcing or making us do anything, but simply influencing us subtly to be one of two people.