Question: Why do you never see elephants hiding in trees? Answer: Because they’re really good at hiding. (tv commercial)
And the elephant in the middle of the room is? (Almost anyone)
I can do no other than be reverent before everything that is called life. I can do no other than to have compassion for all that is called life, that of plants and animals, as well as that of others. That is the beginning and foundation of all ethics. (Albert Schweitzer)
There is an academic tradition called “the last lecture” —-Hypothetically, if you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you say in your last lecture to your students?
Over afternoon tea yesterday, my sister and I were talking about a Native American (Appalachian Cherokee) myth that parallels the Garden of Eden story which tells that the consequences of we folks missing the mark was that, rather than being tossed out of the Garden, we would no longer be able to understand the speech of animals. The enormity of what the loss of that kind of communion would be like struck me anew.
Although animal behavior has always been a special interest and very close to my heart, I’d never thought a great deal about elephants until I received a donation to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee in my husband’s honor following his death. Since then, what I’ve learned is that elephants, like humans, run to meet family and friends, play in water on a hot day, have close bonds between mothers and daughters that can last for over fifty years, mourn for their loved ones, and even engage in empathetic and altruistic behaviors such as making repeated attempts to help a baby rhinoceros stuck in deep mud (psu.edu).
I think if I were going to deliver a “last lecture,” it surely would have to do with affirming and encouraging respect and caring and awe for all of the life that shares this beautiful and fragile planet with us. And then acting in accord with that . . .
My own personal “elephant in the middle of the room”? I find that I am most irritated and distressed with myself when I get so caught up in my own short-sighted concerns and self-absorbed preoccupations that I forget that reverence.
There is a plaque on my kitchen wall that reminds me always: Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.