Alongside the Elephant: Finding footing with what overwhelms us

| April 2026

4 minute read

Have you ever felt overwhelmed or swept away by the headlines and didn’t see how to ride the waves of uncertainty?

What if the way through isn’t over the obstacle — but alongside it, one small step at a time?

So many of us are concerned with what’s happening in the world. I certainly am. And strangely, it was sitting with that feeling of overwhelm that a little creature’s behavior helped me see differently.

Specifically, the behavior of an ant. Small, purposeful, and in constant relationship with the environment around them.

Ants build living bridges with their own bodies so others can cross. That is authentic connection. They reroute instantly when the path is blocked. No panic. No paralysis. Just a subtle collective pivot toward another way. That is resilience. And they leave invisible trails for each other, a language of pure presence that says: this way, I have walked this path. Let me light it for you. That is compassion.

And then there is the elephant. Not the problem. The teacher.

The elephant moves through the world with a quiet, unhurried grace — placing one deliberate step at a time, reading the terrain beneath its feet before committing its full weight. It carries the wisdom of its matriarch — the eldest, most experienced member of the herd — whose memory holds the location of every water source, every safe passage, every place of refuge the herd has ever known. That memory is not hoarded. It is shared. Offered freely to those who follow.

When conflict arises within the herd, the elephant doesn’t escalate or retreat. It moves toward resolution — through touch, through presence, through the quiet reassurance of showing up alongside the distressed. Research has shown that elephants console each other in moments of crisis, offering gentle physical contact and vocal soothing to those in pain. They grieve together. They celebrate new life together. They remember each other across years and distances.

The elephant has survived on this earth for 55 million years. Not through force alone. But through empathy, memory, cooperation and an extraordinary capacity to remain in relationship with its herd — and with the world — no matter what arrives.

We are not so different.

Like the ant and the elephant, we have options and the agency to do just that. We build bridges with our presence so others feel seen, heard and held. That is authentic connection. We have options to pivot when the path changes beneath us. That is resilience. We sit beside those in need, grounded and open-hearted. That is presence. And sometimes, we leave a trail of insight and clarity that someone else might follow toward a deeper experience of their own humanity. That is compassion.

If you’ve been reflecting on how we respond in uncertain times, you may also want to read Who Are We Meant to Be in Troubled Times? — a companion reflection on staying rooted in shared humanity.

And what I have come to know, slowly and imperfectly, is that the ant and the elephant have been showing us the way all along. The ant builds bridges and leaves trails. The elephant remembers, consoles and moves with grace.

And yet here are two creatures — one weighing a few milligrams, one weighing several tons — who have been living these qualities instinctively for millions of years. Without a curriculum. Without a self-help book. Without a mindfulness app.

The ant doesn’t decide to be resilient. It simply reroutes. The elephant doesn’t choose to practice compassion. It moves towards whatever exists. With whatever emerges.

And this is the thing. If we only show up when we have answers, if we only reserve our presence solely for the moments we feel comfortable, we will never truly navigate through challenging times, emotional complexities nor meet the person standing right in front of us. We will keep missing the elephant and the ant. And in a world that already feels like it’s pulling us apart, that is perhaps the greatest loss of all.

And yet this awareness, the humbling recognition of how often I miss others, may itself be the greatest gift. Because once I see it, I cannot unsee it. It changes how I frame my worldview, how I enter a room, how I sit and listen to others and the way I engage with the world I inhabit.

If this reflection resonates, consider Theo’s micro meditation on Our Shared Humanity, where the practice is experienced in real time.

Where the practice begins.

Until now, I have been reading the elephant as the problem. The overwhelming thing. The immovable force that diminishes me and overrides my voice and agency.

What if I flip the paradigm altogether. What if the presence of the elephant is not the problem. But the very motivation to wake up to what is possible.

Not to wait until we have the right words, the right answers, the right moment. But one in which we choose and I write. One that whispers: we are not too small for this. We have skillful means here.

This is creative authorship over our own lives.

Kindness — the daily choice.

Connection — over othering.

Embodied awareness — feeling, pausing, self-regulating.

Listening and learning — before assuming.

Seeing humanity — and acting with equanimity.

Five practices. Five doorways. Each waiting for your willingness. And each with a meaningful ripple effect that reaches further than we can ever imagine.

Now, would you have ever expected the elephant to be the call to action we needed in crisis? Perhaps that has been the invitation all along.

Because the elephant, however overwhelming and complex, becomes the very circumstance we need to feel fully, to show up open-hearted and open-minded, to create a future different than the past.

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