In one of his writings, Paul Harris gifted us with the parable: "The Elephant and the six blind men":

Six blind men were asked to describe an elephant and the first who had seen the elephant’s broad and sturdy side, said “the elephant is very like a wall.”

The second, finding a tusk, declared, “The elephant is very like a spear.”

The third, grasping the squirming trunk, averred, “The elephant is very like a snake.”

The fourth came into contact with one of the great legs and announced, “The elephant is very like a tree.”

The fifth, who chanced to touch an ear, was confident, “This marvel of an elephant is very like a fan.”

The sixth, seizing upon the swinging tail, pronounced, “The elephant is very like a rope.”

Each person was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong.

Most of us are much like these six men. Some particular object, some special activity or some product of Rotary impresses them as most important. Immediately we exclaim, “This is Rotary!” The fact that others find some other fundamental or are more interested in a different activity or attracted to another of Rotary’s facets does not help them to see the whole of Rotary.

What part of Rotary do you see, and therefore what is Rotary to you?