The Elephant & the Boy

 

The Elephant & the Boy 

A Little Story of Ego & Soul 

Our ego is like the elephant.

Our soul is like de boy. 

Once there was a boy and his elephant. 

The boy used to love to ride his majestic elephant around town…and did so with grace, ease and the gentlest of touch. 

The boy was small. The elephant was massive and exponentially stronger than the boy. 

Both boy and elephant were very intelligent, determined, and resourceful—just in different ways.

Our ego is like the elephant: big and strong and can do pretty much whatever it wants to, once it sets its mind to it. But that’s not always a good thing.

Our soul, in contrast, is like the boy. When all is going well, and the boy is treating the elephant with kindness and respect—including ensuring all the elephant’s needs are met in healthy ways—the elephant will gladly do what the boy wants it to do and go where the boy wants it to go.

But make no mistake: the mighty elephant, like our ego, can wreak havoc. A frightened, angry, and out-of-control elephant on the loose can cause an awful lot of damage—to itself and others—if it’s needs are not being met.

Because here’s the thing: both boy and elephant have a purpose. 

Likewise, both boy and elephant have needs that must be met.

The boy—our soul—knows what it is here to do in this life, and why, and is perfectly capable of gently but firmly guiding the elephant—our ego—in the right direction, day in and day out. 

A healthy elephant knows how strong and mighty it is—and doesn’t need to smash through the local china shop to demonstrate its strength to others (including the other mighty elephants).

Without an elephant, the boy would find it rather difficult to navigate his way about town and all the other elephants roaming about. Same with us: our ego is an integral component of our human experience. Without an ego, we would have no boundaries.

Both ego and soul are important and necessary for us to be able to function as healthy, happy, and productive human beings. 

Think of the ego and soul working together to get us where we want and need to go in our lives—without harming ourselves, or others, or the planet, in the process.

The trick, of course, is to always remember and honour the sheer strength of the ego. 

For even a resting elephant in the room is still an elephant.

Maryanne Pope