ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM AN ELEPHANT

Over the recent school holidays our family took a holiday to a nearby game park. We had a fabulous trip in which we saw many animals. Our guide provided insightful commentary on animal life; particularly elephants and Cape buffalo. As he made his comments I could not help but think elephant and buffalo family life is a lot like human relationships. In fact as I watched my children take it all in I saw a teachable moment and opportunity to exercise our wacky sense of humor. We came to the conclusion that all we needed to know we learned at the game park.

Our guide told us that elephants have a remarkable memory. In fact, they can remember events that have happened in detail from 30 years in the past. His commentary was that we need to be very careful in ticking an elephant off as he will harbor a grudge and patiently wait for his opportunity to trample an old opponent. Sound like anyone you know? Truly, it appears from our local elephant commentator, “An elephant never forgets.”

A few weeks ago, I was visiting with a local friend born in 1982 with a friend from a western country. My local friend was describing the emotion of his family towards another group of people and began telling stories from the 1960’s. I did not sense from my local friend a desire for cyclical revenge. However, it was clear that his social system’s emotions were driven by a long tangled history. He was all too familiar with emotions driven by the experiences of previous generations. His eyes had never seen the events of the past, but his heart still beat with the wounds.

My Kizungu culture has become so used to rapid change that it rarely reflects upon the past. My culture’s negotiable truth discovery, perverted view of justice, and passion for quick fixes to life’s complexities shortchanges those who live in situations that demand an elephant’s memory.

However, I have wondered if those of us gifted with exceptional memories also carry an elephant’s curse of never being able to forget. If we are those who always ponder the why questions of life and seek answers to the origins of both human triumph and tragedy our memory will provide the insight to chart new forward visions. Yet it is our elephant’s curse that it also leaves our emotions tattered. We become easily manipulated without a healthy view of justice and mercy, forgiveness and accountability, and an uneasy attachment to paradox.

From the viewpoint of those likely to be trampled by elephants we realize that today’s actions are not just the actions of today. They can set off a chain of events that are unpredictable and volatile. A seeming victory today may shift to a defeat tomorrow. The unscrupulous business profit of today may undermine society’s trust and make long-term development impossible. A person in humble circumstances today may become an influential one in a few years time. If we understand our own potential for future trampling we will make wiser choices today. Fear is not the best motivator for good behavior, but it does get the job done in our most self seeking moments.

If we can foresee our own potential for trampling we will by nature make few enemies and many friends. We will prefer to live in community from start to finish. We’ll grow comfortable with the many roles that life may give us and recognize that time has a way of revisiting the past with a fresh face.

Good teachers learn this lesson well. In the academic world once you reach a certain point upward mobility is almost over. A professor’s knowledge and influence may increase, but his power is rather stagnant. He has the privilege to instruct future leaders. If he can see them through the eyes of one about to be trampled he recognizes that in a few short years many students will be more powerful than he. Thus he instructs with grace, holds firm on matters that are clear, and hopes that in the end the academic relationship will mature into friendship. He knows that the true test of his teaching is not in marks on his exam; but in his student’s performance years later when they must rely upon a never ending thirst for both knowledge and improved character.

A proverb many of us are familiar with is, “When the elephants fight it is the grass that suffers.” Maybe it’s time to look at life through the perspective of the grass. A generation after an elephant fight the grass has moved on. In fact, being in the elephant’s path was a blessing in disguise. The brush was cleared. The earth turned over and fertilized by elephant dung. The ground soaked fresh rain and sun. A new generation of grass has arisen. The grass benefited from the elephant fight of the past, but today it needs peace and forgiveness. Thirty years is too long to wait for opportune revenge.

For those of us who believe in the resurrection of Jesus we must grapple with these awful elephant memories our entire lives. Tragedy begets triumph. From suffering comes victory. Our God does not will evil, but from it He restores loss.

Forgetting is not appropriate if we seek to be wise and forward thinking. However, institutional and generational forgiveness is the only answer to elephant sized problems.

Can you smell the fresh new grass?

Come run with me.

Dave pastors Christ’s Church in Rwanda in the Gaculiro Caisse Sociale Estate. For more discussion feel free to contact him at christchurchrwanda@gmail.com.