I recently attended a seminar on Positive Psychology, and came home with a bunch of ideas. One of them was to create a Positivity Portfolio. The kids and I had so much fun counting down to Christmas, I thought it would be neat to count down to Valentine’s Day by exploring our happy feelings and creating a Treasure Box (Positivity Portfolio). I bought little boxes that the kids painted and decorated last week. This morning, Liam read this story to the rest of the kids:

A Cherokee Chief’s grandson once came to him in anger, proclaiming loudly the injustice another child had committed against him in taking credit for his discovery of a water well nearby.

With a smile the chief began, indirectly preparing his grandson to lead the tribe with a wise Cherokee parable:

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves,” he paused momentarily – meditating upon the predicament the Chief faces on a daily basis.

“One is negative – he is anger, envy, hate, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is positive – he is joy, gratitude, interest, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, amusement, inspiration, generosity, pride, compassion, awe, and love.

The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson of the wise Chief thought about it for a minute and then instinctively asked his grandfather “Which wolf will win?”

Delighted that his grandson had the wisdom to inquire, the Cherokee Chief smiled and countered with a whisper, “The one you feed.”

We talked about the story, what the kids thought it meant, and what they thought about it. Then we jumped right in to examining JOY.

I haven’t blogged in a whole year, but I’ve accepted a friend’s challenge to blog every day this February. I’m planning to blog my Positivity Portfolio until Valentine’s Day, so that should get me through the first half of the month. Stay tuned!