One of my favorite expressions is: "It is hard to [InsertSituation] - with a 400 pound gorilla in the room."
The gorilla in question is of course an undisclosed issue or problem, something that no one talks about, wants to talk about or even face, but is nevertheless a psychic, formidable presence that crowds you rationally, emotionally, and physically as you try and go about your day normally.
The Gorilla's weight is scalable. It is never below 300 pounds, and it usually tops out at 800 pounds depending on the severity of the "backgrounded" issue. It is an abnormal presence, but not imaginary, and represents pressures that exceeds imagination and realizes a hidden fear that was once distant and really incomprehensible.
It sits there, stands there really, and you hear the sound of it's breathing that occasionally disappears into the "room tone" of your job... your life... but comes back to you in a moment of broken concentration or an attempt at repose.
I've got two of them, a 400 pounder and an 800 pounder. I cannot beat them up or chase them away. It is estimated that an average gorilla is ten times stronger than the strongest man. If I fight them they will tear me to shreds, so I wrestle with them carefully by staying engaged with whatever tasks are at hand-- keeping distance because I know, as every good wrestler knows that in order to wrestle well, I need to control position, or at least maintain position.
When wrestling a gorilla, one needs to work for a draw.
It's the best you can hope for.
Hopefully, they will go away just like they arrived, suddenly and without warning.
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Image from Flikr Courtesy of shuttershrink Used With Permission (Special Thanks)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuttershrink/3327740990
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My Independent Filmmaking Blog is the Directors Journal at the LOOP website.
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