Elephant Story (Story)

Hello folks,

There is a story I love to share with others, an elephant story. This is based on an oral story passed on to me.

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Five blind men approached an elephant for the first time in their lives.

The first blind man reached out and touched the elephant's trunk. "The elephant," he described, "is like a long flexible hose with a tough hide."

The second man reached out and found the elephant's ear. He agreed that the elephant had a tough hide but he argued that the first man was wrong. "The elephant is NOT like a long flexible hose but rather like a large thick parchment."

The third man approached the elephants side and told the first two they were wrong. "Clearly," he debated, "the elephant is some huge immense beast for it goes on beyond my reach in all directions." When he placed he ear against the elephant, he could hear the elephant's thunderous breath. But, he conceded, the elephant had a tough hide.

The fourth man approached the elephant carefully, after hearing what the third had to say. He was a bit surprised when he found the elephant's leg. "The elephant isn't so huge," he laughed at the third man, "for I can wrap my arms around it. But the elephant is strong, feel the muscle under the tough hide."

By far the most curious now, the fifth and final blind man approached the elephant and stretched out his hand, completely uncertain what he would encounter. His hand touched and grasped the elephant's tail. Feeling it in detail, the man paused in wonder. "Why, this is no more than a flexible stick with a tuft of hair on it's end, not too different than a paintbrush."

Which blind man truly saw the elephant?

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Thus I believe it is with God and humanity. We all see God but from a different perspective. Only through collaboration can we all come to understand the God that works through all our world's religions. One Light. One Love. Many ways through which humanity is touched.

- ESA