I’m going to be very upfront about the content you are about to read, I find it extremely difficult to explain my thoughts on the matter, but here goes nothing.
There are three types of people on Earth, there are sheep, lions and wolves. Many philosophers and artists throughout history have expressed the idea of all three of those animals being a part of human society.
Typically, the sheep is the type of person to conform to society and be “normal”. The lion is commonly the kind of person that is a leader and outgoing and not afraid to voice their opinion. The wolf is by far the hardest to explain out of the three, but I will summarize it for now by saying that the wolf can be hard to read and their objectives are not always the clearest, but they strive to have outcomes like the lion.
A large majority of people are sheep. Which is sad. Really, really sad. Large amounts of people are content with just following what society tells them to do, to “fit in”. The whole go to school, get a job, pay taxes, and die mentality. There may be some people that live their whole lives never wanting to break social norms and never wanting to do anything out of their comfort zone.
These usually can also be the kind of people that never speak up when something is wrong or even when something is affecting them personally. They take orders from their leaders and may even question it at times, but still will not say a word. Sheep can be non- creative and may never create art, tell stories, go on crazy trips, share their thoughts with others, play music, or other things of the sort. Sometimes being a sheep isn’t a person’s fault. They may have had their hopes and dreams shot down by someone who thought they knew better and, in return, killed their creativity. They're also people that can rise and become more than what they are and change from a sheep into something better.
There are also a large number of lions in today’s world. Lions are the exact opposite of sheep. Lions are not afraid to voice their opinions and protect not only themselves, but the ones they care about. They value expression and creativity and see it as a sign of strength.
The lions of society tend to be leaders and influential figures. Lions are not afraid of change and will, most of the time, embrace it and take full advantage of it. A lion also does not have to be in a leadership position to lead. They can take charge and be influential through their own means and not be bound to a certain position where they are expected to lead. Lion figures will tend to gain a following much like a pride of lions. The members of this hypothetical pride could be former sheep that have allowed themselves to take the blinders off and see what they had been missing. A lion also has huge amounts of passion and can be emotional at times but the reason is because of how deeply they care about the things they are a part of.
Lastly there is the wolves. I’m sure at some point everyone has heard the phrase a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Even if you haven’t, it kind of explains itself. A wolf is the enemy of sheep in nature. The best scenario for a wolf would be to assimilate with the sheep and be able to bring them all down when the time is right, or even one at a time.
The wolf is not necessarily a bad figure in society, but it could easily be so as well. A wolf is usually characterized by someone who is either suspiciously quiet or noticeably rambunctious-- there is no in-between. Depending on what their end goal is, the wolf will either be viewed as a savior or a demon.
Wolves are dangerous to those they are trying to get past but the best friend to those that their actions will benefit. I believe that anybody can take on the role of a wolf and will most likely do so at some point when the need requires them to do so. Someone who is primarily a lion might find that in order to do what’s right by them, they need to act the part of a wolf for a while until they succeed.
Some people might refuse the concept of being compared to animals on the basis that is absurd and humans are humans, not animals. Say what you want, but I have seen the connections applied my whole life and know I am not the only one who thinks this way. Sheep flocks, lion prides, wolf packs-- you can see all these groups in society. People are not just born into these roles, they have a choice to be what they want.
So, you may be asking yourself, what am I? What are you? What is my best friend? What is the person sitting next to me? If you really want the answers, open your eyes, look around the people you surround yourself with.
One I can answer for you right now, however, is what I am. You just read the words of a wolf turned lion.
