---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is an old story passed down through…"
description: "\"“There is an old story passed down through the generations of a Native American grandfather counseling his young grandson, telling him that he has two ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/madeline-sheehan-2398_love-and-kindness_there-is-an-old-story-passed-down-throug_454838.jpg"
---

#  There is an old story passed down through the generations…

![“There is an old story passed down through the generations of a Native American grandfather counseling his young grandson, telling him that he has two wolves living inside of him, constantly fighting each other for dominance. One is the wolf of peace, love, and kindness. The other represents fear…” quote by Madeline Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/madeline-sheehan-2398_love-and-kindness_there-is-an-old-story-passed-down-throug_454838.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/madeline-sheehan-2398_love-and-kindness_there-is-an-old-story-passed-down-throug_454838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/madeline-sheehan-2398_love-and-kindness_there-is-an-old-story-passed-down-throug_454838.jpg)

> ““There is an old story passed down through the generations of a Native American grandfather counseling his young grandson, telling him that he has two wolves living inside of him, constantly fighting each other for dominance. One is the wolf of peace, love, and kindness. The other represents fear, greed, and hatred. The boy asks, ‘Which wolf will win, Grandfather?’ and the wise old man replies, ‘Whichever one I feed.””

[Madeline Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-sheehan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote illustrates that our inner qualities are shaped by the attention we give them; nurturing positive traits leads to peace, while feeding negative ones fuels conflict.

**In simple terms:** Our inner wolves grow based on what we nurture.

Key Takeaway

Choose to nurture kindness and peace.

Themes

inner conflict personal growth mindfulness values

Mood

contemplative inspirational reflective

Type

moral psychological storytelling

When to use this quote

- parent‑child teaching
- personal reflection
- conflict resolution
- habit formation
- mental health coaching

Key Concepts

dual nature choice self‑control emotional intelligence

Questions to Reflect On

- Which inner quality do you feed daily?
- How can you balance acknowledging negative emotions while still fostering positivity?

A Different Perspective

It oversimplifies complex human psychology to a binary model.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Asks Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks-wolf-1234790/) [Dominance Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominance-wolf-3961990/) [Grandfather Counseling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandfather-counseling-3961991/) [Grandfather Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandfather-wise-3961992/) [Lion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lion/) [Love and kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-kindness/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Peace love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace-love/) [Telling Wolves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-wolves-3961989/) [Two wolves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-wolves/)

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