Tonight’s article, though brief, is anything but light — because this artwork is simply too worthy of our careful contemplation.
This painting is the work of Russian-born artist Konstantin Korobov.
My personal interpretation, from Master Chi’s perspective, goes like this: the small lamb in the painting can represent each and every one of us — ordinary people, pure, naive, and simple. We carry no wicked desires of our own, yet we also lack sufficient strength to protect ourselves.
The seven hungry wolves represent the seven great negative energies within human nature.
The first: laziness, giving up, and resignation — this wolf represents everything you bring upon yourself through self-destruction and self-sabotage.
The second: envy, arrogance, and conceit — these are the inner ailments that obstruct your growth and cause you to become increasingly rigid and closed-minded.
The third: toxic relationships, harmful friends, and bad connections — these are the people who cannot stand to see you succeed, and who trip you up, openly or in secret.
The fourth: impulsiveness, greed, and short-sightedness — anything that causes you to lose your rationality falls under this wolf’s domain.
The fifth: foolishness, narrow-mindedness, and ignorance — you already know that countless people in this world have been undone by thinking themselves cleverer than they are.
The sixth: fear, dread, and anxiety — yet this is a wolf that is all bluster and no substance. The truth is, the moment you choose to take action, it collapses instantly.
The seventh: self-doubt, cowardice, and worry — these are the self-denial and excessive worry that rise from somewhere deep within you.
Looking back across a lifetime, we find that we spend nearly all of it locked in an exhausting struggle against these seven wolves.
I know — it is hard. It is draining. And a clean, total victory is rare indeed.
But you are not fighting alone.
You have me. You have your brothers and sisters here, walking alongside you.
Because when it comes to facing the wolves within, the best way to fight is not to white-knuckle it alone through sheer willpower — but to look out for one another, to remind each other, until those wolves can no longer find an opening to draw near.
So take it one step at a time. Together — we will win.