I am a story junkie! One of the stories I’ve always loved is the story of the Elephant and the Blind Men. In case you’ve never heard it or need a refresher, here is one version:
ELEPHANT AND THE BLIND MEN
Once upon a time, there lived six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, "Hey, there is an elephant in the village today."
They had no idea what an elephant is. They decided, "Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway." All of them went where the elephant was. Every one of them touched the elephant.
"Hey, the elephant is a pillar," said the first man who touched his leg.
"Oh, no! it is like a rope," said the second man who touched the tail.
"Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree," said the third man who touched the trunk of the elephant.
"It is like a big hand fan" said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.
"It is like a huge wall," said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.
"It is like a solid pipe," Said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.
They began to argue about the elephant and every one of them insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting agitated.
A wise man was passing by and he saw this. He stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?" They said, "We cannot agree to what the elephant is like." Each one of them told what he thought the elephant was like. The wise man calmly explained to them, "All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all those features what you all said."
"Oh!" everyone said. There was no more fight.
Last weekend will go down in history. Why? From my perspective, it’s because one of the most powerful countries on our planet inaugurated a president who has a perspective that is in sharp contrast to many people around the world. I don’t know exactly how many people in cities across the USA and countries around the world participated in Saturday’s March, but I know that it was more than I had ever imagined. What an amazing response! I am so pleased to be living in a country and community that is free and believes in free speech. I am so pleased to be living at a time where there are so many countries around the world who allow free expression. I am delighted that we are in a time of technology that allows us to share with each other so easily. And, like so many of you, it also saddens me to see, hear, and read the agitation, criticism, disrespectfulness, and divisiveness that seems to be so loud right now. What if there is no Right and Wrong? What if we are ALL “right”? How might our perspective expand, if we just spent a little time listening to each other? What might we be able to create together?
I would love to be part of something that brings people together to share stories. I would love to hear stories from all types of people with all kinds of labels, cultures, political beliefs, skin colors, ages, genders, religious backgrounds, etc, etc. Would you?
If you are interested in hearing and sharing stories, sign up on my website or send me a message, and I’ll let you know when, where, and how.