Yes, we all behave like monkeys at some time or another.
I read about how farmers in areas of the world where monkeys are considered pests, set up traps to catch the pesky monkeys, and I thought…WOW…this is a very clear metaphor!
Two thoughts crossed my mind:
“Yes, we all behave like monkeys at some point”.
“I have to stop acting like a trapped monkey”.
It really is an ingenious method. Whoever came up with it obviously had a clear understanding on monkey behavior.
The farmer starts with a hollowed coconut, gourd, or termite mound, and cuts a small hole on it. He makes the hole just big enough for a monkey to put his opened hand in it. He then puts nuts, sweets, or anything the monkeys crave, and ties the vessel to something to keep it in place.
The monkey will eventually smell what is inside and will put his hand in it to grab the prize. The problem is that the fist won’t go through the hole; so the poor monkey must let go of the prize in order to rescue his hand and himself.
However, the monkey does not! He stubbornly holds on to the prize instead; and that costs him his freedom or even his life.
Incredible; so I thought…I must stop acting like a monkey.
It seems to me that we humans hang on to what we perceive as a “prize”. We hang on to what we think “it’s too good or rare to let go off”, even though it may be a trap and it may cost us our lives or worse…rob us of our peace of mind and happiness.
It may be a job that pays you well and is considered a great opportunity; but is making you miserable…sometimes physically ill. It may also be a marriage that is suffocating you. It could also be an “illusion” that may never materialize but its preventing you from moving forward…it may be, in fact, caging you in an eternal wait mode, and not allowing for something better to come into your life.
I have to admit that I have been caught in those three scenarios in the past. I was, in each instance, holding on to those “sweets”. Until I figuratively “opened my hand” and released the bait, I was trapping myself each and every time…just like the monkeys.
Therefore, I have a choice. I must decide if to act like a monkey would, or like a thinking humanoid when caught in these situations.
Would you let go of the sweets to save your life?
You bet I will!
The monkey may think that he has to hang on to the nuts or sweets because he may not find it again. The reality is however, that there always will be more nuts or sweets for the monkey. Also that once you let go of that miserable job, you will feel happier and something better will present itself. I have never heard anyone regret quitting a miserable job.
The same is true for a relationship that suffocates you. Once you are free of it, a new partner will most likely come into your life.
But regardless if it happens or not, the peace you feel once you get out of a toxic situation, is truly truly lovely. Is funny how we never regret freeing up from a trap…and yet we debate if to do it or not.
Could it be that we are more monkey-like that we would like to admit?
What do you think?
