raising your little elephant

Chapter Twenty- A Reasonable Conclusion

Throughout the pages of this book a number of arguments have been presented. Whether you as the reader choose to believe these postulations depends largely on whether or not I have appealed to your heart. Putting all the technical details aside, this entire work has been a one-sided discussion. We all know that never works. Conversations must go both ways or what I have written is nothing more than a lecture.

I invite you to not walk away from this book by merely rejecting or accepting what has been said here. I challenge you to go out and have discussions about these topics. Really meditate on these matters. Allow for both sides of the discussion. You are under no obligation to buy anything. Free-will is a gift, regardless of how you believe you came into possession of this marvelous ability.

Elephant behaviors are just one example of how we might approach this topic. The same principles could be applied to horses. You can either try to control a horse using pain conditioning or you can appeal to the horse as a friend. The first method may take you where you want to go, but the other will take you where you need to go, and be there when you need your steed most.

It is a common desire among humans want to control others. Some may think this method is best because it seems more efficient at producing results. When this is our goal, we will produce fear-based obedience. Our limbic system can run on fear or guilt to a point. However, these vehicles can only take us so far. What happens when the same fear that holds an elephant captive to a small chain and cuff is broken in a moment of crisis? The captor can only hope the pachyderm forgets what just happened. If the mighty beast remembers as elephants often do, their handler will have to resort to more restrictive methods to maintain control.

Likewise, guilt may motivate repentance, but it will not uplift our heart. It will not motivate us to be better. It might keep us humble, but it won't stop us from belittling others as we do our part to keep them humble. If you do not believe in a higher power then these concepts can be used to corral the masses of humanity to extermination. If you are religious then these methods can be used to corral your fellow believers into a perpetual state of submission.

Contrary to popular opinion, neither of these tools were used by Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, the only time he ever used the word fear in addressing people personally, was when it started with the phrase: "Have no fear". Jesus taught something far superior to these inferior methods. Remorse is a moment of sorrow. On the other hand, repentance is an action word. It means to turn around. You cannot turn around unless you are in motion.

Jesus only gave one law, split into two aspects. One was to love his father, and the other was to love our neighbors (which has an even larger scope than Jesus even mentioned). According to the Biblical narrative humanity was first entrusted with caring for all life on this planet. This law in Genesis included both animals and plant life.

Somewhere along the way the human race took a left turn. Most people know the story but few take time to uncover the real cause behind the disobedience of the first human couple. Many of us may imagine that God is only concerned with controlling us. Submission however, is a choice we must make personally.

Coercion seeks to force a decision based on fear or guilt. It often uses blame as a weapon. This was not what Jesus of Nazareth did. He appealed to the identity of his disciples. He used word pictures and stories to guide people to the right conclusions. This instilled trust in the hearts of his listeners. He then showed the logic of his teaching by living by the same standards that he taught to others.

He showed that the concept of a creator is not irrational at all. It actually can give balance to a chemically imbalanced limbic system that has gone mad trying to make sense of the many seeming contradictions that we often see in the world around us. This has never really been about good versus evil. It is so much richer. We can get lost in the bad. Or, we can rise above it, and grow from our experiences. When we do we become more than a victim on the railroad tracts. We become a survivor. When we realize that someone came to our rescue, we might think of them as our hero. However, in the case of Jesus of Nazareth, he himself said: "I do not call you slaves, but friends." Jesus came to teach us the beautiful power of community.

Even a community can be choked by a narcissistic mindset. There is no lonelier place than to be trapped in a crowded room with people who don't care about us personally. But if everyone in that community brings a little love to the table, that same community is suddenly as beautiful as a flower in bloom. You cannot make a flower bloom. Not all flowers bloom at the same time. Some people treat others like a flower by trying to peel their pedals open. All this does is creates a mess and ruins the potential of what that flower might have become.

Beauty might be fleeting, but the mind who made all these wonderful things is not. This is a wonderful secret. One might even call it a sacred secret. Jesus often used seeds in the stories he told. Funny thing about a seed. The seed doesn't need to focus on budding. It just needs to get past the dirt. Our love like the bud is built into our DNA. We don't need to learn what we already possess. We just need to put down roots and rise above the darkness. As every evolutionist can tell you; it's really about survival. That's why snow doesn't kill the vegetation.

Do you ever wonder why I use the expression Jesus of Nazareth instead of more popular expressions? It has to do with the definition of the word Nazareth. The name simply means 'Sprout Town'. This fits well with his message of hope. At a time when it seemed all hope was lost, he appeared with a seed of hope. That message took root long ago and grew into a global community. His teachings can uplift the lowest heart. Our little inner elephant soars when we apply what he taught in our life. The most amazing thing about his message is he didn't even take the credit for what he taught. He said he learned everything he knew from his father. Who is his father? That is the question.