As happy as he made me, I guarded my heart.
They are the only animals that die as a result of heartbreak.
They are one of the only animals that can cry real tears.
Alexandre Chambon
As they sob wildly, the elephant collapses to the ground.
The brokenhearted elephant is determined to die.
Sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers were established to lessen the number of elephant deaths.
We also know that this epidemic doesnt happen to people.
We dont forgive humans when they, too, feel like they could die of a broken heart.
It all comes down to this simple fact: humans and elephants are not the same.
Alexandre Chambon
Until I had my heart broken.
I had never known anyone like him.
It felt like the kind of relationship that I would have envied as a single woman.
As happy as he made me, I guarded my heart.
With this new relationship, I promised myself that I was going to be more logical than emotional.
I thought this would ensure that I wouldnt get hurt.
Somewhere along the line, we had lost each other.
People leave and they dont come back.
The next day I felt cold, the kind that comes from being alone.
I felt like an elephant, the way I cried for days, weeks, months even.
I stayed in bed, staring at my ceiling.
When elephants suffer from heartbreak, it is a sure sign that death is coming.
When I had my heart broken, it was a telltale sign that I was still alive.
In my most desperate moments of misery, I didnt know which one of us had the better deal.
I realized how strange it was that we dont notice our hearts more often.
This muscle keeps us humans and animals alike alive.
How come we dont notice it?
But you do notice.
When something goes wrong, you notice it.
Sanctuaries are tasked with finding ways to keep them from going extinct.
People go through breakups and face the existential crisis of if there is something wrong with them.
We face going through life alone.
We see broken hearts always as a bad thing.
It doesnt have to be.
When you suffer your next heartbreak, know that the elephants arent dying for nothing.
They had lived for love.
And they are dying for the same cause.
There is something poetic about that.
Too often, we are ashamed of feeling, let alone loving.
Imagine loving someone so much that when you lose him or her your heart stops.
Elephants give their hearts to their mates without thinking about the consequences.
They know that vulnerability yields connection.
Elephants know this better than human beings do.
And the sooner we can learn that from our animal companions, we can be better human beings.
I am not saying that we should not care about the elephants.
Or that we should not be sad when a relationship ends.
I am saying that you should do just the opposite.
Cry for as long as you oughta.
Pay attention to your heart not just breaking, but also piecing itself back together.
To understand what it means to feel like an elephant, you have to feel with your whole heart.
I wont die from a broken heart.
I also wont be ashamed to face my own vulnerability.
Instead, I will think about the elephants.
