Remembering Wayne Dyer – That Scurvy Elephant!
Many years ago while watching PBS I met and fell in love with a man who inspired me to many things – one of them was to be a “scurvy elephant.”
In the 20 or so years since I discovered Wayne Dyer‘s work, I witnessed his conversation go from behaviorally focused to Pure Spirit. Pure Light. Pure Love. He took me with him, as he took so many others.
I was lucky enough to have seen him lecture live nearly a dozen times. I got to shake his hand and on one occasion even give him a hug.
He often told a story of being called a “scurvy elephant” as a child. He came home from school one day and asked his foster mother, “What’s a scurvy elephant?” She told him she’d never heard of one and asked where he’d heard it. “From my teacher; she said I was a scurvy elephant.” Bewildered, his mother called the teacher and asked what she had meant. The teacher responded, “As usual Wayne got it wrong. I didn’t say he was a scurvy elephant; I said he was a disturbing element!”
Wayne Dyer taught through storytelling and wove some of the best metaphors for the purpose of change. He looked at and approached things differently than many of us would. He was a disturbing element to me as I transitioned from my pain to my purpose. He showed me it was OK to be vulnerable, to make mistakes, to grow from exactly where you think you’re stuck.
Wayne Dyer made his transition one month ago, on August 30, and will be influencing us from the place we all return to. He is greatly missed. My prayers of peace continue to go out to his family, friends and the world he influenced.
Here’s to the greatest Scurvy Elephant ever.
