Elephant Burgers

 

How do you eat an elephant? One burger at a time. Or something like that. I’ve heard and used the expression all my life, and it’s helped me tackle some big projects. As I get older though, I understand even a burger-sized task can be too much for my plate, and I’ve learned to scale down. It’s okay if sometimes the very best you can do is one small, simple thing. Ants build hills a grain at a time. Maybe it’s just getting something into the washer rather than finishing several loads or putting off errands on your to-do list that won’t stop the world from turning if they don’t happen right away; a paper plate instead of washing dishes. A couple paragraphs of a book instead of a chapter. One thoughtful email reply. No phone calls for a day.

We all come in different emotional sizes and physical capacities that fluctuate in different seasons of our lives. Being overwhelmed isn’t always a choice, but we can certainly decide what to do about it. I imagine an elephant would laugh at the ant’s miniscule aptitudes, and an ant could hardly bear the idea of carrying a ton or two on its own. Regardless, they get the job done each in their own way and in their own time. So don’t worry about the elephants or the elephant burgers; sometimes crumb by crumb gets the job done, too.