The Long View

Is there a “God”? Apparently, there are more than two answers (yes/no) to that question. I’m certainly not going to try to settle it in this column!

Instead, let’s talk about elephants.

Fair warning: None of what I’m about to suggest has been vetted by a zoologist. That’s more or less deliberate on my part because, if it’s academically questionable, I don’t want to know. The value of elephants, for me, is not contingent on science.

Once upon a time someone told me that elephants can’t safely lie down. The deal is that their huge bulk would put such pressure on their lungs that they wouldn’t be able to breathe and would suffocate.

Consequently, no matter how sick or feeble an elephant might be, it can’t stretch out on the ground to rest and heal.

Every elephant in the herd knows this intuitively. And they know it’s true of their fellows. So (this is where *magic* comes in), when an elephant is very ill, other members of the herd gather closer and closer, until they are literally supporting their friend with the great bulk of their own bodies. They maintain the circle of support until the ill one heals.

Is this literally true? I dunno, and, as I said, it’s not especially important to me.

What matters is my lived experience that some humans are like elephants in their intuitive impulse to support another who is struggling.

There was a recent medical crisis in my family. Of course there were cards, emails, and phone calls of support.

AND Sally brought war wonton soup. Mike offered to mow the lawn. Cherie took my load of wet clothes home and dried and folded them. Mary shipped homemade pear butter to us from Washington. Betty arrived with a lifetime supply of food from a nearby restaurant. As you might expect, our minister came by to sit and listen. Manuel moved chairs. Many people contributed hugs. Others listened and listened.

Truly, a herd of elephants held us safe until we could stand on our own again.

Perhaps you think that’s unusual. Perhaps I’ve helped enough folks over time that it’s simple karma. Perhaps I’m just so special everyone wants to help. Maybe.

Or maybe Mr. Rogers was right:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news,” Mr. Rogers told his television neighbors, “my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” (quoted by Brian Hamilton, former editor of The Union)

If these last few weeks were an isolated incident in my life, that would be one thing. However, this sort of thing has happened repeatedly over the years. For a long time, I don’t think I recognized it. More recently, I’m most likely to notice the “elephant pattern” in hindsight. At this point, I am grateful just to see a pattern.

There are likely as many ways to understand The Flow of the Universe as there are humans. Friends, firm conclusions in this arena are way above my pay grade. My working hypothesis is, “Elephants are real.”