The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep, loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.
–Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Late one night, a Kenyan elephant sanctuary received a call that an elephant calf had fallen into a well. The rescue team arrived to cries of despair flooding the darkness and discovered that two-thirds of the baby’s trunk had been lost to hyenas. Transporting the calf to their safe haven, they named him Long’uro, which means “something that has been cut.” Though he possessed only one-third of his trunk, Long’uro healed and was embraced by the rest of the herd at the sanctuary. Elephants innately know they need each other, so they help each other.
Long’uro’s story, a tiny flicker of resilience in the vast African night, illuminates a profound truth about existence: the inherent need for connection and the power of collective support. His truncated trunk, a brutal testament to vulnerability, became a symbol not of loss but of the extraordinary capacity for healing within a community. The elephant sanctuary, a haven built on compassion, didn’t just save a life; they restored a sense of belonging. Long’uro’s integration into the herd wasn’t a calculated act of charity but a natural expression of the interconnectedness that binds all living beings.
This instinctive understanding, that survival and well-being are inextricably linked to the strength of the collective, is a lesson humanity seems perpetually on the verge of forgetting. We exist in a world where divisions are amplified, where isolation breeds despair, and where the echoes of Long’uro’s cries can be heard in the silent suffering of countless individuals. We build walls, both literal and metaphorical, and forget that our shared humanity is the very foundation upon which our survival rests.
The story of Long’uro is not merely a heartwarming anecdote; it’s a mirror reflecting our own potential for empathy and unity.
We are capable of creating sanctuaries, both physical and emotional, where those who have been wounded can find solace and strength.
We can choose to extend a hand, to bridge the gaps that separate us, and to recognize that our individual well-being is intrinsically tied to the well-being of our community.
The world is calling out, just like that distressed calf in the Kenyan night. It’s calling for a return to our innate understanding of interdependence. It’s calling for us to actively choose compassion over indifference, connection over isolation. Let us learn from the elephants, who instinctively understand the power of unity. Let us build our own sanctuaries, not of bricks and mortar, but of empathy and action. Let us answer the call, extend our trunks, and heal the world, one act of kindness, one connection at a time.
Editor’s Note: Find your herd at Encounter 360° Tampa Bay—but don’t wait—limited seats are going fast!
Ours is an era characterized by absolute impotence. We are recovering from a devastating pandemic and in the world there are infinite conflicts that cause death and destruction every day, not to mention restrictions and humiliations inflicted on populations that could aspire to a better life. In addition to this, we have an exponential development of technology that is changing our way of producing, working, our business models and our way of consuming.
There are thousands of beautiful ideas and proposals, thousands of analyses and projects, what is missing are subjects who can implement them; subjects so free and so responsible that they can enter into the details of reality, having in their eyes the horizon in which everything comes together and everything converges for the good of all.
I believe that there are two conditions for the transition from potential to reality, from intentions to work, from intuition to responsibility.
The first is the sincerity of recognizing that everyone needs others to fulfill themselves and to be able to make a valid contribution. The willingness to work together comes from the experience that reciprocity is a law of human nature that affects all of life, personal, social, work and even entrepreneurial. It is simply not possible to achieve one’s own good without considering the good of others.
The second is that civil society remains vigilant and does not get used to deaths at sea, bombings, and policies of closure without vision. We must continue to be indignant and angry in the face of pain and deaths, which we can and must avoid.
I am convinced that a life characterized by this openness to the world, by this propensity to work together to find new paths that overcome old habits, is a decisive contribution to building a new sociality that in turn becomes the ferment of a strong, supportive and responsible civil society.
Your observations resonate deeply with the complexities and challenges of our time, my friend Aldo. Your emphasis on the critical need for sincere collaboration, recognizing our interdependence, and the vital role of a vigilant and indignant civil society truly highlights the essential ingredients for moving beyond potential to meaningful action and building a more humane and responsible world. Thank you for articulating these crucial points so thoughtfully.
Thanks my friend; your kind words are appreciated.
A peaceful Easter with your loved ones.
The story of the Kenyan elephant s is a reminder of the inherent need for connection and the power of collective support. Humanity is on the verge of forgetting this instinctive understanding, as divisions are amplified and isolation breeds despair. The story of Long’uro is a mirror reflecting our potential for empathy and unity. We can create sanctuaries.
Those wounded can find solace and strength, and we can choose compassion over indifference and connection over isolation. We should learn from the elephants and build our own sanctuaries with empathy and action.
A great post about what true humanity is about, Dennis. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you for this poignant reflection on the story of the Kenyan elephants, Ali. Your words beautifully capture the profound lessons of connection and collective support that resonate deeply within us. You rightly highlight the critical importance of remembering our innate need for unity and empathy in a world often marked by division. The image of Long’uro serves as a powerful reminder of our capacity for compassion and the potential to create havens of solace and strength, urging us to learn from the elephants and actively build our own sanctuaries of empathy and action.
🔆 Dennis- Thank you my friend. The credit is yours as my comment reflected what is written in your lovely post. Thank you