There is a Lot of Elephant Poop to Get Cleaned Up!

It is week four in our fifty week calligraphy challenge and the prompt was idioms. I had to remind myself what an idiom was by looking them up online. I must have read a couple hundred when this one stuck out. I instantly had the idea in my head with no thought of how I would pull it off. I am by no means an illustrator or figure artist, so it was time to travel outside of the box…no pun intended!

In my life it seems as if I am always the one to bring up the elephant in the room. I notice the thing no one wants to talk about and find a way to broach the topic. Maybe to prove I am not crazy, maybe to make sure I understand or am not missing what everyone else sees, or maybe to validate that the situation makes no sense and ask why is it this way? I have lost count of the times I have made the, “Let me make sure I understand what I am seeing/hearing” statement which means naming the elephant an elephant. And then the chaos ensues…

We’ve all been there. Noticing the elephant, seeing the elephant, understanding that the elephant is being avoided. Do we ask about it? Is there a reason no one else is talking about the elephant? What happens if I just leave it alone? Will I be able to live with myself, respect myself if I just stay silent? Why am I the one who has to bring this up? What will happen if I do ask about it? Is that the end of all may hard work? So much turmoil about an elephant that should be no where near this room!

It takes courage to ask about the elephant in the room. Not everyone wants to go there, not everyone wants to even admit there is an elephant let alone that they are in this room! Being the one to speak up during those times might be some of the most character building, respecting earning moments in my life. I didn’t do it for that, I did it to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Having the guts to ask the questions built more courage within myself and helped me earn the trust and respect of others. It also confirmed for me that I was thinking big picture and noticing what wasn’t right. Someone needs to bring up the elephant AND be willing to do the work to get it out of the way. Maybe that is why other people avoid the elephant. Once the elephant is identified and asked to leave there is a lot of elephant poop to get cleaned up. And who wants to volunteer to do that?!?