I am emotional.
"Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader. But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. He’s completely overmatched."- Chip & Dan Heath, Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard
Rider: analytic, rational, controlled side (the brain)
Elephant: emotional, automatic, irrational side (the heart/emotion)
Trains in Decatur, IL make several things possible: moving freight, jobs, stopping traffic, making the rider pause just long enough to acknowledge the elephant. And as the elephant blows from its might trunk, the rider's eyes glass over and the stream of blaming chatter sets in.
"If I'd have known I was going to sit at a stopped train for 15 minutes, I would have sat in the hospital room with him that much longer."
"The whole reason I'm crying is because this train has me stopped."
"Ugh, what is so different about today that is causing me to cry?!"
"Damn train, if I could just get moving to my meeting, I would be able to stop crying."
"And of course I have no tissue, which wouldn't be an issue if this train wasn't stopping me."
And then epiphany...
"I need to cry."
"I need this 15+ minutes to stop and just be."
"I need to process my feelings by FEELING them, not thinking about how to control them."
"My tears aren't going to flood the earth and my meeting will still happen."
"Do not attempt to find a way to move. Just sit at this train. Let the tears roll without wiping them away. (mirror check- no snot). Tissue is not an issue."
The point...
We can blame it on the train.
OR
We can ride the elephant...sometimes giving into its overpowering stature and other times taking the reins.
I am thankful for the trains in life.
I am emotional.
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