The spirit of the elephant...

I will never forget the time that I was called an elephant.

I must have been about 10 or 11 and was in a Saturday morning jazz class. We had finished warming up and were preparing to go across the floor when the teacher called on me, said, "You're an elephant. Show us the combo we did 3 weeks ago."

Being only 10 or 11 with the nickname of "Half Pint" due to my diminutive size, I was incredibly confused. What exactly made me an elephant? Elephants are large, and I imagined quite loud. I was just a tiny little slip of a thing. With a perplexed look on my face, I demonstrated the combination, paying extra attention to staying as light on my feet and quiet as possible. When I was done with my demo, the teacher said, and I quote, "I told you you were an elephant."

I was completely confused for the remainder of the class, but a conversation with my mum once class was over quickly cleared things up. I remember her telling me the elephants were known to have excellent memories and that must have been what my jazz teacher was talking about.

Since then, elephants have carved out a special space in my heart. When I moved to Las Vegas, my mum and I went shopping for things with which to decorate my apartment. I'd recently imported a mandala tapestry from India that ended up having elephants on it. We spent 45 minutes looking at shower curtains because I found one with elephants that I really liked, but I didn't want an abundance of elephants. I opted for something out, but for Christmas last year, my mum gifted me a rather amazing ceramic elephant (now named Elroi). I found a really fun vintage elephant box while antiquing a few weeks later. When we were in Colorado apartment hunting, my mum bought me an adorable elephant planter (still needs a plant, but he's been named Wazee Wazee in honor of a street name in Denver).

While quizzes about my spirit animal have never indicated that an elephant is mine, it does appear that the elephant and what elephants stand for do play a role in my life. Elephants have a strong connection to family. They are strong but gentle creatures. Elephants symbolize stamina, strength, and patience. Elephants also represent environmental protection and guardianship. These are all things that I have been seeking in my life as many curveballs have come my way.

All of that being said, I find it rather interesting that this elephant tee has made it's way into my life. It was another wonderful gift from Kindom and was designed by an artist with autism and printed on a hemp/organic cotton tee. It is comfortable and reminds me that even though I've been feeling very disconnected and weak, that I'm not. I just need to have patience and to keep moving forward.