My grandpa once won this ridiculous bottle of glitter labeled "pixy dust" in a raffle. I was very small, and he told me it was elephant dust, which he sprinkled in the front yard to keep the elephants from trampling in the flower beds. I said, "But Grandpa, I haven't seen any elephants out there," to which he replied, "Great, then it's working!"
It's gotten me to thinking. Nobody ever talks about the elephant in the room, which I'd always found to be indicative of denial, or an inability to cope with the truth. Through much observation, consideration, and experience, I've done quite a bit of accidental soul searching and found I no longer feel this way. Perhaps the elephants in the room go unspoken of because their presence is known, and does not need to be acknowledged. Perhaps they are ignored for the necessity of keeping the peace.To not acknowledge the elephant can be an act of pure empathy, a display of prudence and tact. Acknowledging then may at times only exacerbate a situation, and the elephant, as any adult person knows, cannot be brought to extinction through non-discussion. Still, sometimes the child in me likes to make believe that elephants can be held at bay by just a little sprinkling of elephant dust.
About Me
- Red Herring
- is a lifelong artist, student and bibliophile with an insatiable curiosity that leads her from one interesting experience to another, much in the way Toucan Sam's nose leads him to fruit loops.
