Feeding the Right Wolf #WATWB

Jul 28, 2017 | No-Niche Posts

The theme for the end of June and the month of July has been life, laughter, and love. So much of all three. Yet despite two celebratory and relaxing weeks off, followed by a very productive return to work, the outside world oozes in with insidious soul-suckage. You can’t exactly go through life like a Central Park carriage horse with blinders on Fifth Avenue at rush hour, but some days it’s tempting to try. Last week’s news, without even touching on politics, featured cheerfully teary memorials for a suicidal robot and the merciless mirth of a handful of teenaged stoners who watched a disabled man drown while joking about alligators and filming his last, desperate struggles to stay afloat.

Feeling grim and cynical, I posted:

death-of-empathy
It’s good to have friends like Dave M., who immediately chimed in with empathy and a timely reminder: “We choose what we consider. Every day,” adding a link to a story about two men, the terrible accident that brought the unlikely duo together, and irrevocably changed both their lives for the better: “Homeless Vermont Man Honored for Saving Life of Truck Driver After Horrific Accident,” by Caitlin Keating (@CaitKeating). The comments section on my Facebook wall is not to be feared; it’s refreshing – restorative.

And this underscores the challenge facing us all, as told in the story of the Two Wolves:

Not just for our own health, peace, and sanity, but for the sake of those around us, we should always strive to feed the good wolf and starve the evil one. That doesn’t mean we should ignore all the evil in the world, but we should be vigilant about not letting it steal our joy or rob us of our faith in the goodness of our neighbors. And I hope that we can all be like Dave, finding the goodness when our friends seem blind to it, so we can show them where the good wolf lives, and help them to feed it when they’re too tired to carry the sustenance it needs.

I have been an inconstant participant in the We Are the World Blogfest ( #WATWB ). But Damyanti Biswas, one of this month’s cohosts, gently reminded me – and reminded me, again, as I’d requested earlier in the month – and Dave’s comments and link seemed serendipitous. I’m glad that I can share them with you, this month.

Your cohosts are Belinda WitzenhausenEmerald BarnesEric Lahti,Inderpreet UppalLynn HallbrooksMary GieseMichelle WallacePeter NenaRoshan RadhakrishnanSimon Falk,Susan ScottSylvia McGrath, Sylvia Stein. Please visit their blogs and see what they’re sharing! Do you want to help feed the good wolf? Tweets, Facebook shares, Pins, Instagram, G+ shares using the #WATWB hashtag through the month are most welcome. Write a post of your own! Click here to learn more and enter your link! The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the more the joy! Hosts and participants will try to follow and share all those who post on the #WATWB hashtag, and we encourage everyone to do the same. 

Now, to end your week with a silly grin:

Holly Jahangiri

Holly Jahangiri is the author of Trockle, illustrated by Jordan Vinyard; A Puppy, Not a Guppy, illustrated by Ryan Shaw; and the newest release: A New Leaf for Lyle, illustrated by Carrie Salazar. She draws inspiration from her family, from her own childhood adventures (some of which only happened in her overactive imagination), and from readers both young and young-at-heart. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, J.J., whose love and encouragement make writing books twice the fun.

10 Comments

  1. Mitch Mitchell

    Good stuff. I wasn’t sure whether last week nationally was a good one or not because, though I try to keep away from the news and all the “stuff” happening in the world it seems one can’t escape everything… even a lot of it.

    Thus, I’m still trying to find the good in people and my life and the funny is dealing with Mom on a daily basis because, even though I can’t control even that, I can control (sometimes) how I react to it. That and, when all else fails, I can go down the street and get big ice cream sundaes!

    Reply
    • HollyJahangiri

      Times like the ones we’re living through totally justify ginormous ice cream sundaes, with REAL hot fudge and lots of it.

      Reply
  2. ROSHAN RADHAKRISHNAN

    It is definitely tougher this year to hold on to happiness. I mean from it a personal level but also at a global level. I feel this #watwb is almost essential reading during such times to keep the spirits up and remember that good people still exist

    Reply
    • HollyJahangiri

      There are many sites that focus on “good news” but we need to publicize them. I think we’re helping to do that, but it’s a drop in the bucket. We need lots of drops to fill the bucket!

      Reply
  3. Damyanti

    I’m so glad I helped start the #WATWB– it’s been a positive influence in my life and blogging, and thanks to excellent folks like you, it continues to thrive into its fifth month!

    Reply
    • HollyJahangiri

      I think it’s a very worthwhile effort, and I hope to see more join in. You know, people like attention (doesn’t have to be “fame,” and most of us would shy away from that MUCH attention!) My mom used to say that kids misbehave mainly to get attention; bad attention is still attention. How sad is that? If we could starve bad acts of attention and give more of it to goodness in the world, it would have an effect. I believe that. The whole world could do with a bit of “family therapy” these days.

      Reply
    • HollyJahangiri

      Thank you, Simon. I’ve always liked the story, but the day I wrote that, I really, really needed the reminder.

      Reply
  4. Lynn

    Even before #WATWB began, I did my best to keep away from the negativity online. Reading all the posts by #WATWB members, such as yourself, I am reminded that yes there are bad things out there but there is also so much good going on. I prefer to highlight the positive and feed the positivity wolf. Thanks for sharing this with us.

    Reply
    • HollyJahangiri

      Thank you! I’ve found that doing this is as good for me as it is for readers. As I just said to Simon, I need the reminder, some days. Yesterday, for example. And if my post can BE the reminder for others, that makes me even happier.

      Reply

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