The Good Wolf(Big Juice)

The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack-RK

I once sat upon a throne with a young king. I spoke with him at great lengths about life and the state of affairs. He spoke calmly but behind his calm voice was slight anger. Procrastination and slackness were no friends of his. He spoke like a father yet he had no children. He was a man forged in the fires of desire. Not the lustful kind but more the desire to soar higher than any others before him. 

The King told me a story... and the story goes:

There once was a shepherd who wandered into the wolves den without fear, he sought out the alpha of alphas and made a companion out of him. After gaining the wolf's trust and love, he spoke of the great heights that needed to be reached. The climb he spoke of was one which sparked fire in the wolf's eyes. He was younger yet wiser than the wolf and the wolf knew so the shepherd always had his ear. The wolf respected the shepherd because when the shepherd spoke of  adventure and glory it always involved the pack. He was not a selfish shepherd. The wolves always wanted more for themselves but their reckless and wild nature always seemed to put blinders over their eyes. The nature of the beast was too savage for civilization and the shepherd understood this but saw opportunity where the wolves thought barriers to exist. As many of the other shepherds fell into bad fortune their flocks of sheep falling weak to disease and death at the hands of other wild wolf packs, the wolf shepherd feared not for he had chosen his flock or pack with great consideration. He hunted with the wolves and fought alongside them in times of danger. This brought the level of respect to an all time high for any man and beast friendship. The wolves eventually didn't even consider him a man he had become one with the pack. Time went on and the wolves became accustomed to the man and his way of viewing things. He was a man who captured the light within the dark and found beauty in it all. A respect and understanding for the forest allowed the man to see potential others could not. The shepherd was not like other men the wolves had come across because he could see clearly into what many creatures could not. The shadow of night served as the wolves invisibility cloak when stalking prey. The Shepherd painted crisp pictures with the shadows. What once served as as cloak eventually became a spotlight and the wolves were awed at this form of magic. The shepherd taught the wolves how to be better at spotting rival packs and friendly creatures in the dead of night. It was this light that made the wolves more aware and what helped define this pack as a force to be reckoned with.

  One morning the sun rose and the alpha wolf awoke. He looked out and it seemed as if the suns light had gotten even brighter than the day before, some would describe it as blinding. At once, he knew the shepherd had risen to join the ranks of other fallen shepherds. His aura had brightened the sky and finally all wolves would see differently day or night. He was not just a man in wolves clothing, he was not an impostor, or poser. He was the wolf shepherd, the good wolf, the man who dared. His vision had visited the hearts of the pack and it was that day that the wolves realized their potential. What he saw was not just a dream of his it was a look into the future. A dream is something one man has but when others get wind of it the dream becomes a prophecy. It is no longer an option, it is the only way. The savage way is something many look down upon, but the shepherd had an open mind and he took the time to understand. The close minded will always misunderstand because they don't give it a moment to marinate. The shepherd said "Let It Marinate". Sheep cannot shift the fate of the forest but the wolves will.

Shepherds are simple men. They do not seek much, simply goods or currency in return for their nurturing of their herd. A shepherd who seeks more cannot settle with a bunch of measly sheep. He must herd something more willing and able, something fearless and ferocious. A shepherd that herds sheep cannot cut through the forest to reach town and simply sell his sheep. He is lucky if he makes it to town himself much less with any of his herd. Don't complain about the forest and its atrocities if you chose a flock of sheep as your companions.  The only shepherd who can manage a stroll through the forest is the one that chooses to walk among wolves. That shepherd is a wealthy man for without fear he can come and go as he pleases. He has demanded respect of the forest and to step to him is to go toe to toe with the pack.

Other shepherds claim the wolf shepherd has given in to insanity. They think he has gone mad with delusions of grandeur. I say the wolf shepherd was a believer. He believed in the power of the wolves. He knows the sheep are not capable of making real change he must seek out that raw power the wolves possess. Diamonds are not found they are made with pressure. The diamond is not some special gem just found digging in the sand. Diamonds are made of common ordinary substances. They are forged deep in the pits where there is high pressure and high temperatures. This is what the wolf shepherd understands. He walks among the despair seeing diamonds in the broken souls. Anyone can herd sheep but what man dares to herd wolves?

The king followed the story with some words of wisdom: you can't win a war with followers on the front lines. You need revolutionaries and real soldiers , men who act on instinct but also use strategy when necessary. To change the outcome from slaughter to victory you must forge an army just like a diamond through high pressure and scorching temperatures. 

This got me thinking as I bowed my head and got lost in deep thought. This king's humble beginnings were a bit cloudy to some, but throughout the kingdom all knew the king was no crowned prince. He was a king with many scars and dirt under his fingernails. He wasn't raised under the protection of the court. His daily routine involved walking among the wolves. Yet, no matter how many days he jumped down in the trenches he never resembled the wild beasts he befriended. He stood tall among the worst of them and left his own mark on them instead of allowing them to scar him. One could easily confuse the king for a wolf himself, yet he never budged on his morals and ethics and maintained a positive behavior with friendly interactions. This is why some thought of him as "The Good Wolf". It is my opinion that a king that represents such righteousness is no wolf or beast at all he is actually a shepherd. The shepherd who has a flock of sheep is very different when compared to the shepherd that herds wolves. At that moment, I realized the king had risen from the ranks of shepherd by herding wolves. As I looked up to tell the king the shepherd was he, I realized he'd vanished never to return. My eyesight had reached beyond the present.
 

The best teachers of humanity are the lives of great men- CHF

The King, The Shepherd, The Savage #BigJuice