Wolves

Wise men say that you should learn life from animals (atleast some aspects of it). Solomon, the wise king, asked the sluggard to learn from ants about the importance of hardwork. Crows are often used to remind man to live in the present. Conies are an example of having strong foundations and locusts are remembered for their unity. (I'm aware that all of these examples come from Bible. My literature review is limited, the application of these examples are not though)

But what do I say? More importantly, is it important to listen to what I say? Probably not, but I think it's important to have a voice and to find the courage to be opinionated during these trying times. How do I know this? Because the more I bothered about the political correctness of this post, the more I realised that people will find lacunae in whatever I write and that's ok, because we have different opinions and that's exactly why we need to open our hearts to what other people have to say. While we are doing that, let's also anchor our thoughts so that we don't get carried away by every flurry of opinion and criticism coming our way.

So here's what I think - I think we should learn life from wolves. Yes, you heard that right- wolves and let me tell you I don't have academic knowledge of their habits and routines - a lot of this is drawn from popular media.  So bear with me and open your hearts to the idea behind the interpretation and not the factual accuracy of the post (there's nothing wrong in being factually accurate, but this is not about facts, this is about what interpretation you draw from something you observe)

So wolves. Why wolves? 

Because on one hand, they are ferocious, aggressive and fight fiercely - everything that we look for in a competitive individual. And what's being competitive attributed to these days? Being individualistic and to some extent being concerned only about oneself.

But on the other hand, wolves are pack animals. They live in groups, care for their pack members and provide for each other - hallmarks of a co-operative being.

How is it that elements of cooperation and competition go together in the same being then? Aren't they supposed to be SEPARATE? - You are either cooperative or competitive ; and is not a valid conjunction in this case, right? Maybe.

Maybe, life is not so compartmentalized and filled with air tight categories. Maybe it's not as strictly dichotomous as we perceive. Maybe our monochromatic eye needs a contextually-appropriate upgrade. Because, maybe, just maybe, life is grey ; Grey like the fur of those wolves. And hence, those wolves would be able to teach us a thing or two about life. 

I submit my case.