“The power of choosing good and evil is within the reach of all.” – Origen
Imagine for a moment that you have two dogs battling inside of you. One, named Bully, reminds you of everything you fear. She is jealous, greedy, and anxious. She knows everything that is wrong with you and delights in telling you how unimportant you are, how small, how useless, ugly, and hopeless. Given half a chance, Bully will eat you alive. The other dog, named Angel, embodies everything compassionate in you. She is strong, secure, kind and generous. She knows the way to accomplish all of your dreams, and she seeks to remind you that you are powerful, cherished, and capable. Angel will save your life, but only if you allow her to.
Of course, we all long for Angel to win the battle and for her power to be released into our lives, but on a daily, moment-to-moment basis, it’s easy to feel Bully has the upper hand. So how do we make sure it’s Angel who becomes the guiding force in our lives? The dog who wins the battle will be the dog you feed.
No doubt you’ve heard that your decisions determine your destiny, but it can be challenging to know how each choice you make will add up and affect the big picture of your life. From now on, think of each choice you’re presented with as a decision on which dog you nourish. This kind of clarity will make it easier to navigate how to best support yourself day-to-day. So the next time you have the opportunity, for example, to gossip about someone, remind yourself you would be feeding Bully. Anytime you have the chance to give someone a genuine compliment, you strengthen Angel.
Know that you feed Angel anytime you choose love: for others and yourself. You choose love when you take the extra few minutes to take care of your skin and hair; when you give yourself the gift of physical exercise and the blessing of meaningful work well-done; when you make healthy food choices that fuel your body and support your health; when you spend time with the people you love and you let them know what they really mean to you, how they enrich your life. All of these are opportunities to empower Angel and bring her energy consistently into your life.
This simple analogy reminds us that no choice is neutral. Everything we do is either a choice for growth and love, or a choice for disempowerment and fear. The good news is that each choice you make builds momentum: each time you feed Angel, you make it easier to feed Angel and more likely that you will next time. Unfortunately, this is true of feeding Bully as well, but you have the power to make a new choice right now, and to begin to swing the balance back to Angel’s side.
Over the next few days, slow down and look at the choices you’re making each day. What are you choosing to do? What are you choosing to neglect or deny? What are you choosing to say about others? What are you choosing to say about yourself? When you find yourself stuck over which path to take, ask yourself, which dog would this support? Which dog are you feeding? With this new perspective, your very next choice could be the beginning of becoming your best, most loving, compassionate, and powerful self. You can do it.
