Fifth Random Thing I Love: Purple Elephants

A series intended to distract us all with some randomness, humor, and wonder!

This is the fifth post in a weeklong series intended to be a distraction from the seriousness of the week. (Regular content will return next week.) While my creative bent shows up in much of my other writing, this week I am giving it free rein.

AI Generated: DaVinci App

Fifth Random Thing I Love: Purple Elephants

Really? Purple Elephants?

Yes, here is the story. It is really about how creativity has always been a survival skill.

In the realm of challenging moments in my life. . . .

I am teaching a graduate course on Current Trends in Neuroscience and Trauma. What a remarkable group of people from all professions working hard to better understand how to help communities, students, schools, churches, etc.

There are twenty-seven students in two cohorts. I had and hour Zoom meeting with each of the cohorts yesterday. I was sure the student's political views fell on both sides of the aisle. And my job was to guide a discussion about trauma and avoid politics--even as it was just the most gigantic elephant in the room that ever existed... and half of the nation was feeling various levels of trauma from the election .

This was my visual for the evening. We are neither blue nor red, we are purple. We are human beings who are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. Learning about the impact of trauma is what binds us together. Learning how to gracefully lean into love when others are traumatized and learning to practice self care and regulation when we feel traumatized is the very essence of trauma-informed/sensitive/responsive living.

I can have a personal take on this election and also enter the classroom as a purple elephant. People across many helping professions are practicing that this week. Let us all be purple elephants for one another. How we voted is far less important than how we care for one another.

This is kind of cheating today because I posted this on Facebook and it is about the election—kind of—which I was trying to ignore this week. But really, is anything more distracting than a purple elephant showing up in your email? Besides, I have been drowning trying to keep up with the grading this week and I needed an easy button.

Thanks for spending time with me and my seven things this week. I will be back with #6 tomorrow!