If you ever find yourself on U.S. Highway 98 N. near Lakeland, Florida be sure and stop in at the Red Top Pit Stop. There you will find some of the best smoked barbeque in Florida. I had the Swamp Burger! It's a huge charcoal grilled hamburger topped with chipped barbeque plus all the fixings. Then in Southern style you can opt for baked beans, coleslaw or greens. My widowed grandmother raised collard greens and fed it to all her kids along with cornbread. It was a life-saving staple for her six children during the Great Depression. So of course I had to include collard greens!
Later when I was reminiscing about the good food and the country décor of the barbeque restaurant, I noticed in the photo that a wooden statue of an elephant was setting on the window sill behind me. Wow, I was photo bombed.
How many times in life do we fail to see the obvious of something that could be an elephant in the room? Or maybe we see the elephant and choose to ignore it. Are there conversations that no one wants to discuss or obvious truths that are going unaddressed? Acknowledging an issue or giving it a name can be the first step.
Choose the right timing for a discussion then be sensitive to others emotions. Encourage people to speak and communicate making room for feedback. The elephant has caused some "scratchy or itchy" feelings but allowing for a sharing time adds to others having a sense of comfort. Speaking of comfort, have some comfort food available for a snack or maybe chat over lunch. This allows for a good distraction and stress buster.
My kudo to you today is to acknowledge the elephant in the room. You can do it! Do it with a kind perspective as a concern for the betterment of the whole. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Who knows, getting rid of the elephant may just prevent your life from becoming a real circus!
"A word fitly spoken and in due season is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11
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