In This World… “Wolves and Sheep”

In this world there are wolves and there are sheep.  Wolves lead; sheep follow.  Wolves rise through the ranks of the proletariat and bourgeoisies and find themselves ensconced in the upper echelons of whatever profession, career or field they inhabit.  Sheep languish in manual labor and middle management.   Wolves get rich or die trying.  Sheep retire, having put in thirty (or more) years for a company to live out their lives in comfortable near poverty.  Sheep go with the flow; wolves grasp the river and direct it to their ends.  Which are you? 

It takes a certain awareness of yourself and your surroundings to be able to truly, honestly evaluate yourself and determine whether you’re living the life of the wolf, or bleating along with the crowd.  Are you hungry?

 Do you want to better your place in life?  Or are you content?  Or worse yet, discontent but powerless?  Wolves are hungry.  A wolf is never satisfied: their life will be marked by progression, by trials and struggles and schemes, by great triumphs and devastating failures.  A wolf marks success by how far he can ascend.  A sheep has been sated: their life is a single measure of music repeated again and again, marked only by variations on the theme.  A sheep marks success by the safety of their situation. 

Is it right to be a sheep?  Is it to your advantage to be content?  To be lulled into slumber?  To be ignorant of the woes of the world?  Is it right to be complacent?  Will you be happier if you ignore the realities of your life?  Is it right to be a wolf?  Is it to your advantage never to be satisfied?  To be cognizant of the woes of the world?  Even of those beyond your control?  Is it right to be anxious?  Will you be happier if you understand the harsh reality of your life? 

Certainly there are advantages to each.  Sheep live happier lives.  Whatever they have is enough, no matter how little.  They are satisfied with their job- though it may not be ideal.  They are satisfied with their spouse- though they may not be ideal.  The world is the way that is- and there is no point in questioning why.  Sheep fear change.  Wolves lead desperate lives.  Whatever they have is never enough, no matter how much.  They are never satisfied with their job- the next promotion, the next step up, always.  They are never satisfied with their spouse- even true love is discarded as easily as an empty tin can.  The world can, must, will be changed- questions are the point.  Wolves fear stagnation. 

In this world there are wolves and sheep.  Which are you?  Are you content in that choice?  Did you make the choice yourself?  If you did- did you do so knowing full well that choosing to be a sheep is choosing a life less than what you could, should, and would be if you chose otherwise?  If you did- did you do so knowing full well that choosing to be a wolf is choosing a life of constant deprivation, of constant struggle to maintain upward mobility?  Make your choice well.  

Nathanael Love