An ancient tale from South Asia tells about six blind men who experience an elephant for the very first time. Each one projects his knowledge from a limited perspective to be the whole thing, certain that he knows The Truth about the elephant.

The man at the trunk thinks the elephant is like a snake; the man at the leg thinks the elephant is like a tree; the one at the ear thinks the elephant is like a fan. And so on. The men disagree about The Truth of the elephant, not having a common ground of understanding.
Adoption is fertile ground for something similar. From our limited experience of this vastly complex thing — Adoption, — we begin to think we have a handle on it and we know The Truth about it.
But the more we can become un-blind to the parts we don’t experience, the better grasp we have of the whole, and the better we can relate with others who have a differing experiences.
Like our children and their first parents.
Ep 304: Seeking Truth about Adoption via Parts Unknown to Many
I still struggle with being the special one, the chosen one. It’s a lot to live up to.
Janelle Ison, Ep 304 of Adoption: The Long View
Continue reading The Elephant in Adoption: What Is The Truth?