To the uninitiated, the parable is about six blind men who have never met an elephant. When they finally do, they feel only one part of the animal’s body (such as the tusk) to learn what it is like. Based on what they have individually touched, they vary in their perception of what an elephant is. One says it’s like a wall. The others say it’s like a fan, snake, tree, spear, or rope. When they compare their experiences, they disagree with each other's descriptions.

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The moral of the parable is that people tend to state absolute truths based on their limited, subjective experiences and dismiss others' opinions, which may also be true. It is with this adage and parable that we want to illustrate the diversity in how people perceive grief and other life adversities.

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This is why we have this section called “What It’s Like,” where we relate first-hand accounts of obstacles we have overcome, so those who haven’t experienced these may understand, or at least get an inkling of what sufferers are going through, so they know how best to help (or communicate with) them. We think this would be beneficial, for example, to parents who are unsure of how to deal with differently-abled children. But this is just one instance.

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Scroll down and click on the life challenge that currently speaks to you. We hope you will gain valuable insight from our staff’s and contributor’s accounts.

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Photo Credits:

• Flower field—Kohji Asakawa

• Elephant—Gordon Johnson

• Photo credits for the thumbnails below are stated in individual blog posts.

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