Digesting the Antelope

I am not talking about ‘eating the elephant’ i.e. conquering an enormous task one step at a time.

‘Digesting the antelope’ is different. It means being confronted by a substantial realisation or major change; one that cannot be honestly divided into smaller parts, so must be ingested whole.

As someone currently digesting two antelopes at the same time, I’m fascinated by the experience. Firstly, it feels inevitable – like I could delay it but never escape it if I want to move forward. That’s quite a strange feeling to have. One of the antelopes definitely seems to have an external origin to me, because it is the result of research we have completed. Despite that, it seems to have roots into my own depths that I simply can’t ignore – how bizarre!

Secondly, the antelopes are true. If I were to really define it, I would say that the process of ‘digesting the antelope’ is the act of reckoning with an important truth. This fits the characteristics of true things – they shouldn’t be divided, exaggerated, spun or manipulated lest they become untrue.

Instead, truths pose a challenge to reconfigure our identity and perspective to accommodate a simpler understanding of our world. Or else what?

Or else we stay where we are, saying the same sentences, making the same fundamental mistakes (instead of a ‘new and improved’ set of mistakes).

And the rewards? Hopefully a simpler and more meaningful life. A happier and more capable person. A far green country under a swift sunrise.