Sometimes a story
lets us see something
we couldn’t see directly.
The Elephant Parables™ use story, reflection, and
conversation to explore the perspectives and hidden
patterns shaping how we see ourselves, each other,
and what happens to us.
Because sometimes changing the
story starts with seeing it differently.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE POOL
WHAT IF THE STORY
YOU'VE BEEN TELLING YOURSELF IS ONLY ONE
VIEW OF WHAT
HAPPENED?
The Elephant in the Pool explores the moments, experiences, assumptions, and borrowed beliefs that quietly shape how we see ourselves.
Not by telling you what your story should mean.
By inviting you to look again.
Because what happened matters.
But so does the meaning you made from it.
And sometimes…
there’s more of the elephant than you could see from where you were standing.
WHY THE ELEPHANT?
You may know the old story.
Several people encounter different parts of an elephant. One feels the trunk. Another the ear. Another the leg.
Each describes something completely different.
And each is right.
They just don’t have the whole elephant.
We do this too.
With relationships. With change. With success. With failure. With ourselves.
We experience one part…
and quietly mistake it for the whole truth.
And then we make decisions, form opinions, and tell ourselves stories based on a piece we’ve confused for the picture.
The Elephant Parables™ invite you to get curious about what else might be there.
THIS ISN'T ABOUT FINDING THE "RIGHT" INTERPRETATION
It’s about discovering another one.
A good conversation doesn’t have to end with everyone agreeing.
Sometimes the most interesting moment is:
“I never thought about it that way.”
The Elephant in the Pool opens that door—for you, and for anyone you read it with.
THE ELEPHANT PARABLES™
One elephant. Different perspectives. New possibilities.
The Elephant in the Pool — Reflection Distorts Reality
What changes when we look at the reflection we’ve mistaken for reality?
The Elephant in the Puzzle — Pieces Create Meaning
What changes when we realize the piece we’re holding may be real—but incomplete?
The Elephant in the Sky — Distance Reveals Truth
What becomes visible when we gain enough distance to see the larger picture?
Different stories. Different perspectives. More of the elephant.
BOOK CLUBS
HOSTING A BOOK CLUB? THIS ONE STARTS CONVERSATIONS.
Read together. See differently.
Use The Elephant in the Pool as a starting point for conversations about perspective, identity, borrowed beliefs, the meanings we make from experience, and the things we thought we understood—until we looked again.
No one has to be fixed.
No one has to share more than they want.
There isn’t one “correct” insight everyone is supposed to reach.
The goal is curiosity. Conversation. And maybe…
seeing one more piece of the elephant.
INVITE JULIE
WANT JULIE TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION?
Bring the author into your book club, organization, or community for a facilitated conversation that takes the ideas beyond the page.
Julie uses stories, questions, humor, and the Whole Elephant Principle to help groups explore perspective—without turning the conversation into a lecture, or anyone into the problem.
So people leave with more than a discussion about a book.
They leave thinking differently about their own story.
WHAT MIGHT YOU SEE IF YOU LOOKED AGAIN?
At the story.
At the assumption.
At yourself.
Not to prove your first perspective wrong.
Just to discover what else might be true.
PAIN BENDING™
with Julie Smith
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