The Circus Elephant

The Circus Elephant

Do you know what circus trainers do to keep a circus elephant from escaping? After every performance has been witnessed by the audience and once the show is officially over, the trainers clamp a metal chain onto a collar around the mighty elephant’s leg - where the chain is attached to a small, wooden peg that’s hammered into the ground. The 10-foot tall, 5,000 kg brute is more than capable in accomplishing the task of snapping the chain, uprooting the wooden peg without requiring any effort, and escape. However, that is not what happens. In fact, it does not even try. The world’s largest and most powerful land animal, which can uproot a tree as easily as you and I could break a toothpick, remains tied down by a small peg and a flimsy chain. How come? It’s because when the elephant was a baby, its trainers used exactly the same methods. A metal cuff was placed firmly around it’s leg, but the difference arises by having the wooden peg replaced with a sturdy metal stake hammered firmly in the ground. The chain and stake were strong enough for the baby elephant in order to prevent it from escaping. So, if it would try to break away, the metal chain would pull it back. In most cases, the elephant would pull harder resulting in the metal cuff to deeply wound the young calf’s leg by penetrating deep within its hide and cause it to bleed. Through many attempts and after suffering enough pain, the baby elephant finds no reason in continuing to break free from the shackles and stops trying all together.

Once the elephant is older, regardless of the fact that the same chain and wooden peg is used to tie it down, it remembers the pain that it felt as a baby and does not attempt in freeing itself. So, even though it’s just a chain and a little wooden peg, the elephant stands still. It remembers its limitations, and knows that it can only move as much as the chain will allow. It does not matter that the metal stake has been replaced by a wooden peg. It does not matter that the 100 kilo baby is now a 5,000 kilo powerhouse. However, the elephant’s belief prevails.

If you think about it, we are all like the circus elephant. We all have incredible strength and capabilities within ourselves. We have all of the necessary tools to achieve any goal that we choose to set for ourselves. However, we have our own chains and pegs of our own - our self-limiting beliefs that prevent us from moving forward. Sometimes it’s a childhood experience or an early failure. Sometimes it’s something we were told when we were younger. Time then to ask the question: “What’s holding you back?” What’s your chain and what’s your wooden peg?

I’m realizing more and more through the adventures of life that “happiness” truly isn’t a destination, but rather a way of traveling; a by-product of living a meaningful life and appreciating everything we encounter along our path. When we live with purpose and gratitude, we become an example to those around us. #travelfreely #livefully #itisachoice #bethechange #deployyourbest #setanexample #paths #thesimplepleasures #enjoyit #traveloften (at Alum Cave Trail)

What To Consider In Order To Become A Successful Student: #11

Prepare for class. As one of my professors said, “If you don’t know enough about a subject already, lectures are a pretty poor way to learn.” You have to read the material eventually, so you may as well read it before class. It’s amazing how much more meaningful the material is the second time you are exposed to it.

CREAM Your Best Self. You are enough and each day you will continue to strive for better results. I encourage you to step outside of familiarity, to step outside of mediocrity, for in doing so you will have begun the process of self-drive necessary to achieve “success.” Whatever you want to achieve be it a dream or short-term goal in mind, you have the capability. Never settle for anything less than your absolute best and never doubt your efforts. Be your success today and your success tomorrow.

💜

a lesson on nonbinary individuals and why we feel the way we do about numerous basic things, such as the mere fact of our existence and our pronouns.

America's Prolonged Slumber

Our nation has not become diverse unexpectedly, we have always been diverse. That’s our nation’s problem. Over countless years disagreeing over varying affairs that has extended over time, ( e.g., be it race, class, political status, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.), we will never see eye to eye fully and this will never be resolved. One thing, however, is clearly certain. Until we are able to overlook the “differences” and actually behave rationally (for some - behave maturely) by seeing each individual as a person, then we will continue to stray away from what’s important. What’s the point in disrespecting those around us by the color of their skin, by the party they support, or by having people express their true sexuality? Every one of us has to wake up and truthfully say that each of us are the problem. Whether we are the ones who verbally express our opinions or not, we think about it. We choose to tolerate such behaviors by believing that it’s someone else’s problem when in all actuality it is our own regardless of how far away it’s happening from us. Resolving the issue in how we all see each other in such varying degrees is the biggest form of change that our country needs more improvement on. Why add more to the list of problems that we all have to face? Posting about these problems for the shear publicity regardless of the issue at hand, is not going to make one bit of difference - I’m fully aware that this post may be considered, but I have reached my boiling point. I’m done wasting my breath and voicing my concerns to those who need more than just a good talking to realizing that what I’m addressing is probably going in one ear and out of the other anyway. Granted our diversity may not be our biggest issue, but I am completely baffled by the fact that this issue is tolerable to some and still an issue. When can we look passed the “differences?” Yes! The bloody word has been in quotations because each human being on the face of the earth is different and let’s face it, we are all not going to agree on every possible issue because none of us are alike - big surprise - so why the hell do we insist on conforming others to a particular need or belief as if we have the right to do so to begin with? If you’re the one who looks at others as if you had just sucked a lemon out of the shear disgust or disapproval that you have toward them, then you are the problem! Here is to one day where each life truly matters. A day where we each can stand resolutely with as much love and respect for one another as our own family members, secure in the knowledge that we are all Americans and all want what is best for our country. A day when each citizen can contribute in making life better, not for ourselves, but for future generations to come. Only then will we achieve great things and actually resolve issues that, like our “diversity,” should not have been an issue to begin with. America is great in that we can voice our concerns freely but it’s 2016 and we are still behaving like we are decades in the past with the exception that we now abuse the privilege of modern day advances and use the technology as a weapon to voice our opinions about those who happen to disagree with a value or belief from the ones we have chosen to believe for ourselves. God willing - I hope I can bare witness to a country filled with respect, honor, thoughtful conversation, and mature debates to ultimately reach compromise in order to surpass the immature discord that we as a society have allowed to persist for too long.