Awaken The Giant Within You (Bo Sanchez)
Your True Size Is Measured By Your Courage, Wisdom, and Love.
Even as a baby elephant, Bulig was big.
As Bulig grew up, he was taller and
bigger than all his playmates.
It didn’t take long for the other
elephant to be afraid of him. And Bulig
knew this. So he used his size to terrify
others to do what he wanted them to do.
He’d snort and growl as he’d say,
“I’ll crush you!” It was his usual greeting to
anyone he met on the road.
Obviously, if the other elephants
were scared of Bulig, the other smaller
animals would be as well. Monkeys, deers,
tigers, and even lions stood in awe at the
huge animal.
The elephants gave him a special
home on top of a small hill. And Bulig’s
throne was a gigantic bed. There he lay
down and lorded it over the jungle.
Each morning, the elephants would
give him a basketful of bananas. And the
monkeys would give him a basketful of
apples. And the deer would give him a
basketful of nuts. This happened everyday.
So Bulig grew even bigger. And the
more he grew, the more terrified the
animals became of him.
He now became a god to all the
animals there.
A group of pelicans took turns
fanning him.
A group of parakeets sang to him in
the morning.
A group of monkey acrobats
performed for his evening entertainment.
For the longest time, Bulig never
much left his home.
In fact, for years, he didn’t even
stand up from his giant bed.
All he really did was snort and growl
once in awhile, “I will crush you!” And
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every time he said it, all the animals would
be terrified.
Because he didn’t move much, he
became as fat as ten elephants put
together!
Now, even other animals from other
jungles would visit to see for themselves if
the Legend of the Giant Elephant was
true. And all of them would stand in terror
at the sight of the great beast.
One of those animals was a tiny
turtle by the name Pokito.
Pokito heard about this Elephant and
wanted to see him.
Being a young and playful turtle, he
thought it would be great to be friends with
the giant elephant.
So one day, he walked up to Bulig
who was like a mountain compared to
Pokito. But Pokito wasn’t afraid.
He said, “Hi great Bulig! Can I be
your friend?”
All the animals around Bulig gasped
in horror. Who dared speak to Bulig in that
way? Does he know what he was
saying? Poor turtle!
Bulig was insulted that a little
creature was not worshipping him as a
god. So he snorted and growled his usual
growl and said, “I will crush you!”
But Pokito was a wise turtle. He saw
that behind Bulig’s size was great
weakness. He felt pity for him. So he
simply said, “Bulig, I just want to be your
friend. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I’ll
just go on my merry way…”
As he turned around, Bulig got even
angrier and snorted and growled again and
said in a bigger voice, “I WILL CRUSH
YOU!”
All the animals scampered behind
bushes, rocks, and trees. It was the first
time they heard Bulig this angry.
Pokito turned around to face the
giant again and said calmly, “Bulig, I
wouldn’t do that if I were you. You might
hurt yourself…”
Bulig’s face turned red as a fire
truck.
He stood up. Or at least tried to.
Remember, it has been years since he
even stood up!
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 “Ummph…
Ummmph…. Ummmmmmmph!” Bulig
struggled and struggled but couldn’t stand
up!
“Bulig, please don’t do that…” Pokito
said.
All the animals left their hiding
places. They were totally shocked to see
their god having difficulty standing up!
Finally, Bulig’s legs folded and he
came crashing to the ground. Whaaam!
Bulig was now in pain, but his
humiliation was even greater than any
physical pain he was feeling at that
moment.
First, a little monkey began to jeer.
Soon, other monkeys joined him.
And after awhile, all the animals
began to ridicule Bulig. They taunted him
and called him names. “Weakling!”,
“Fatso!”, and “Blubberhouse!”
That was when Pokito screamed,
“Stooooooooop it!”
Everyone hushed at the brave turtle
in front of them.
“For years, you worshipped Bulig as
a god,” Pokito said, “but now, you’re
insulting him as the enemy. Why are you
doing that? Bulig is just one of us, just like
any other animal.”
Pokito marched to the embarrassed,
whimpering Bulig and said, “Do you need
help to stand up?” Sheepishly, Bulig
nodded his head.
The turtle turned to the other
elephants, “Help your friend stand up.”
The other elephants were astounded
by the wisdom of the little turtle. All of
them went beside the giant, and together,
pushed him up.
With great effort, the huge elephant
stood up.
With his knees still trembling, Bulig
smiled at the turtle and quietly said,
“Thank you. You are the real giant.”
Pokito smiled. “Thank you.”
Bulig asked, “Can you be my friend?”
The turtle said, “On one
condition. You have to join me in jogging
every morning.” He winked.
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 And all the animals broke out in
laughter.
7 Lessons for Life
I wrote this little story for Mustard, our children’s magazine. (Why Mustard? From
mustard seed! If you want to subscribe and get 10 fun-filled issues for your kids, log on at
www.shepherdsvoice.com.ph )
But the powerful lessons in the story aren’t for children only.
In fact, I believe adults need to hear them more than kids do!
Here are the 7 life-changing lessons from the story:

Lesson #1:
Don’t look for worshippers; Look for true friends instead.
Not all friends are created equal. Some friends are just fans. They admire you. They
flatter you. They fear you. They benefit from you. But when you need them, they’re
not there. Choose true friends over fans anytime. When you have a problem, they’ll
stick there by your side.

Lesson #2:
The best way to look for a true friend is to be one.
Are you a true friend? Do you care for people? Do you go out of your way to express
your love for them? The best investment you’ll ever make will be in your
relationships. There lies your true gold.

Lesson #3:
Bullies are weak. Avoid them or face up to them,

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 but never be afraid of them.
Do you have bullies in your life? You’ll always cross paths with bullies. Bullies
intimidate people. Bullies want you to fear them. They manipulate you to follow
them. Depending on the situation, you can avoid them or face up to them. But never
be afraid of bullies. Because all bullies are fake. With their outward force, they cover
up their weakness. But deep within, a bully is a fragile child with lots of fears.

Lesson #4:
When someone doesn’t like to be your friend,
just walk off and go on your merry way.
Life is too beautiful to be sad at one person’s rejection.
People-pleasers want to please everyone. And when one person rejects them, they die
within. Because people-pleasers need to be needed. When a person rejects them, they
get hurt deeply—and carry this hurt wherever they go and allow this hurt to affect
their lives forever. What does a mature person do when they receive rejection? They
get hurt like everyone else but they don’t carry the hurt. They shake the dust of their
feet and move on. They love themselves. They love life.

Lesson #5:
When someone is angry with you in an unjust way, pity that person.
He will be hurting himself.
Don’t pity yourself when you suffer unjust anger. Remember that unjust anger
destroys the person who is angry, not you. Pity him.

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 Lesson #6:
Always be good and kind to everyone—
whether he be a king or a beggar.
Every human being you meet in life is God’s child. Whether he sits on a throne or lies
on the mud, it makes no difference. That person is your family.

Lesson #7:
Your true size is measured by your courage, wisdom, and love.
Are you a big person? Measure your courage and wisdom. By how you love, you shall
know whether you have matured in life or not.
May your dreams come true,