The Elephant is Bigger

… in one of the episodes of Shark Tank a couple came to pitch a business idea involving a conflict resolution tool consisting of a cute little elephant stuffed into a box. I must admit I can’t remember the business angle but I was taken by the elephant, basically a small soft toy that will fit in one hand housed in a beautifully designed casing. The idea was that if a person has something bothering them, rather than giving the cold shoulder, stone walling, they will alert their sometimes oblivious partner by removing the lid covering the elephant case, display the elephant in a prominent place. The partner comes in, sees the elephant, knows there is an issue, they both sit down, talk through, issue resolved and everyone lives happily ever after!

Really? No please, this minature thing works for tinny winny issues. In my experience and observations , the ‘elephant’ is neither cute nor small. You enter a situation and the energy in the space can literally suffocate, you are trying hard to breath for dear life, everyone knows there is an elephant in the room and it is not pretty, it is a massive scary looking elephant that will not fit into no box, at least not without a serious fight. it is as ugly and devious as hell. The elephant is not alone, the ancestors are present, the issues runs deep and far, it has branches, tranches, it has children and grand children, even great grandchildren, etc and they are all in the room, little wonder you can’t breath! This issues are not resolved in one sitting with a cute cup of tea and scones, the issues are not gentlemanly and it is about to get ugly, the elephant is way bigger! There are inferences, insinuations, strongholds, false accusations and beliefs etc. The dimensions are endless, the permutations complex.

So you are in the room with the humongous elephant, what do you do? Where do you start? Someone ask, how do you eat an elephant? Bit by bit. I am not sure in this case, it is the right thing to do. It might be smarter, to live to fight another day and quickly leave the room. Some elephants are too big to get out of the room, we are the ones that must leave, let others consume to finish if they don’t die in the process.

Know your elephant!