What an Elephant Forgets by not Forgetting: An
Encouragement to Remember You are Free
They say an elephant never forgets…
The way I heard it, it is just the one thing he
remembers that has caused this to be an oft used phrase.
When an elephant is small, a chain is put around one
back foot, and attached to a peg in the ground. The little elephant is thus
trained to remain where it is pegged, even after it becomes a huge creature who
could easily pull the peg from the ground.
I thought about that the other day. About how we are
tricked, or we trick ourselves, into feeling powerless to move from the tiny
spot we are pegged to.
It could be in a feeling we had when we once
believed we could pull away and find new adventures, only to be snapped back
into place at the end of our proverbial chain by fear, or failure, or others
saying we could not go. Maybe we tested that restraint in other areas or in the
same area, reaching for a dream or a vision we had. Or maybe we never knew our
power and potential and left it go at one try.
Over time, something gets in our heads. A voice that
says something to the effect of, “you know you can’t, why try?”
Now, an elephant calf, when captured or born into
captivity, has not had the time to build memories of being a wild and free
being. He doesn’t know how big and strong he will become. He doesn’t know that
there is a whole herd of other elephants who remember him and miss him and
could give him the support and protection and encouragement he needs.
In his little circle of grass around the peg, he
feels alone. As he grows, he begins to
accept that the trainer and keeper are his pack, that the work they give him to
do is his lot in life. He forgets his dreams and hopes of the wild, of the
family he longs for.
And so, while a bull elephant who grew up at the end
of the chain never forgets that his freedom is limited, what he does forget is
how amazingly strong he is. He forgets how gifted he is and how unique among
other elephants. He becomes dull and uninterested in life, because his kind have
greater emotional depth and wisdom than many humans, and like humans, needs
others to feel fulfilled and happy. And so he spends his days doing the few
mundane tasks he is compelled to do, and then just sways with the breeze,
dragging his wondrous trunk in the dust, lost in thought or not thinking, Feeling
sad or not feeling.
When I thought about this the other day, I had a
sudden burst of laughter at myself. And a sense of relief and renewed hope. How
easily pegged I can be, when I have been given so much with which to obtain and
maintain my freedom!
You see, no one has chained me to a peg, but me. Without
really realizing it, I had made the choice to let myself be limited by my circumstances.
Truth be told, I used them as an excuse to stop pulling at the peg and brake
the chain, out of laziness and self-pity. I have been in a season of giving up.
My self-talk had become seriously pathetic, and like the Good Father He is, the
Lord gave me a gentle slap to bring me to.
That is the inspiration to share my thoughts about
what an elephant forgets, that it may give you a slap and a giggle and the lift
and force to break a chain or two of your own.
Because, maybe you are not where you want to be. Maybe, like me, you had
hopes and dreams of certain outcomes, and they have slipped out of your grasp. Or
maybe, like me, you find yourself sort of floundering in a whirlpool without
the energy or direction to pull out and swim upstream.
Whatever the case may be, I encourage you,
remember.
Find a quiet place to spend a few minutes or a few
hours alone, recollecting. I like that word, recollecting. It brings up a
picture of treasure strewn about, some hiding under things and nearly lost, and
me gathering them all back together, collecting them, again. Now with them all
before me, I can consider their worth. Maybe I have held on to some that no
longer have value to me. Or maybe they never had and now I am in a place to
recognize that. And then, among the bits and bobs I may find forgotten treasure
of great worth! Maybe I have never seen it in this light before, or maybe it is
a thing I have held onto for that some
day when I could finally take it out and put it to good use.
Maybe today is that day.
Do you have a talent or a special gift that you don’t
use? (Notice I did not say that you don’t, get
to use. I find myself whining at times that I don’t get to write, when the truth is, I just don’t write.) Whatever it
is that the Lord has given you to use, use it. If it is love, then love. If it
is song, then sing. If you are a gifted hostess, have a party! (Social media
has made us less social. We need to actually get together!) Maybe you have the
gift of compassion. In nursing homes and hospitals all around you, there are
hurting and lonely people longing for someone to just sit with them and listen.
A plate of warm cookies can go a long way to comfort a grieving friend or
neighbor.
I know, there are real limits to our freedom. We only
have so much time, or so much money. We have obligations, etc., but these are
some of the things to really consider. Can/should some of them be cast off? Who
or what is compelling obedience to a certain task, or denying us a certain
liberty? Sometimes we chain ourselves to a small spot to feel safe. Sometimes we
cripple those we serve when we do not recognize they no longer require the
level of devotion we have given.
I am not
suggesting we don’t care for our families or pay our bills, but even in those
areas we could possibly be more creative how we do them, in order to buy the
time to learn a new skill or use a gift we would enjoy giving. I like what
Scott Adams says in his book, “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win
Big”… which is an amazing by the way… that (and I am paraphrasing a whole chapter)
we are obligated to take care of ourselves first, so that we are fit to care
for others. We are more delightful to be around, when we are satisfied with how
we are spending our lives. So like Scott says, there is a sort of selfishness
that is appropriate to being a generous person as a whole.
Conversely, there is a certain amount of guilt of
sin that comes along with not being a good steward of the gifts that we were
given. This creates an ambient level of unhealthy stress in our lives, which in
turn can make us crabby or sad and depressed or even angry. There is no pill
for this but action.
I don’t know specifically what anyone but me has to
act on to forget the limiting chain and remember what a wide, wild, world there
is to explore and relish each day. What I
do know is this. Every single one of us has at least one thing to give that no
one else can give in exactly the same fashion. And not a single one of us can
find true fulfillment if we do not invest those gifts in those around us. If you
will look, you will find that the dreams and longings we have correlate with
the talents and gifts we have.
As for me, I have to create. I have to obey the
force inside of me that is always dropping pictures and ideas and poems and
songs in my heart. I never stop thinking of how to help and heal and tickle and
move and provoke with words and song and food and pictures and engaging in
stimulating conversation about everything and nothing! Not acting on those
things is maddening!
I look now at my chain, my peg in the ground, and I see
it for what it is, a hoax. With one deep breath and a little focused
determination I can yank that sucker out of the ground and take off at a steady
pace toward the life I know I need.
It’s not Monday, or New Year’s Day, or my birthday,
or any other marker I would usually need to convince myself it’s a good day to
start anew. It’s just an average raining Thursday.
It’s a great day to do something wild and satisfying,
and beat a new path to freedom.
Find your herd and live wild! xo
