Elephants, Giraffes, & Man-Hugs

Mr. Joel Rinkenberger (in THE blue hoody)

Mr. Seth Gerber (holding Mr. Timi)

Mr. Joel Leman (pretending to work)

Picture this. Eyes closed, now. You are sitting on a sandy beach, listening to the ocean surf break against the distant rocks. You dig your toes into the cool, wet sand, tilt your head back, and breathe in deeply... listening to the sound of your heart echoing in your ears. Now tell yourself an "I feel" moment... that's right... first the "when," then the "because," then the "in the future"... for instance, "I feel happy when I sit at the table because I know I am about to eat, and therefore I look forward to Thanksgiving dinner in the future." (stated by Joel Leman, Denver, Colorado, support group member 3, on the 22nd of November, 2006) Breathe in, breathe out... and repeat: I am an elephant; I am a giraffe; we are all elephants; we are all...

...incredibly amused at the "emotional distance" run by our three friends listed above.

THE PADRES:

Today Joel & Seth went to Jose's (one of the CVE kids) school for a "meeting" para padres (for parents), and found instead... a support group. And they got "in touch with their feelings."

Their first clue when they walked in was the roomful of women. The second clue was the line, "Oh... usually it's for the mothers, but you are welcome." [Insert both Joel & Seth thinking, "Okay... they don't like us anyway, we need brownie points so we'll stay," and the even more relevant, "Why do they call it 'padres' when it's only for 'madres'???"] The third clue was the nametags they had to wear: "HOLA! YO SOY JOEL/SETH." The fourth clue was the "ice-breaker" game where everyone was part of an elephant or part of a giraffe, working together in unity as a team. The fifth clue was the 15 minute meditation session, with closed eyes and "...ocean wave music playing in the background while the lady talked in a low voice and told us to think about our kids and how we respond to one another, and how we love them." The sixth clue was when everyone started crying (except... that's right... our two protagonists of the story). The seventh clue was when they were asked to write letters to their children... telling them how they really feel, and how they love them. The eight clue was when both the aforementioned protagonists were "antagon-ized" (I know... bad pun, but I had to use it) by being "match-maked" with the school's teachers... after all, who can resist a "sensitive man" who is "in touch with his feelings"???

Meanwhile... back at CVE...

THE FEELERS:

The sun was burning down, the cement was mixing slowly, the water was running dry, and it was definitely time for man-talk...

So, Joel Leman & Austin Anliker shared a brief man-hug, and let loose with their "I feel" moments, cleansing the pain, sharing the hurt, hoping for a brighter tomorrow. I believe I was told that tears were even shed. Later, Joel shared that, "Yes... I do use lotion... cucumber melon, actually." Strong emotions were obviously at play here...

So they came, they worked, they laughed, they cried, they "felt"... it was beautiful.

Slowly open your eyes. Let the peace stay in your heart and mind... just know that one day you too can be in touch with your inner self like these young men. It takes work, time, patience... and love... always love [insert Beatles' "All You Need is Love" in the background over the wave music]. And just remember... You are an elephant, you are a giraffe, we are all elephants, we are all...