The Monkey and the Fruit

Long ago I heard about the monkey trapped by a fruit or a nut. During my stay in prison, the idea came back to me and stayed. 

The monkey trap from Teach the Soul explains the idea:

There are many variations to this story, but it’s quite instructive. In South America, Africa and Asia, the natives have devised a very effective method of trapping monkeys. The plan is deceptively simple: the natives take a gourd or some similar object and drill a hole just large enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through; they add some extra weight to the gourd with sand or pebbles, then put a nut or some fruit inside and place the gourd where a monkey will find it.

***

 Here’s what happens: the monkey sticks his hand through the hole to get the food — but with the prize in its grasp, the monkey cannot get its hand back out. The hole is too small for the monkey’s hand to pass through so long as it’s holding the treat, and the gourd is too heavy for the creature to carry. Because the monkey will not let go of its prize, it becomes trapped. The animal gives up its freedom to hold on to a small piece of food.

***

 It seems obvious that all the monkey needs to do is let go of the bait and it can escape. But because it views the treat as its possession and is not willing to let go, the monkey is trapped. It loses its freedom.

 Sound familiar?  Not only the story but the situation?

The monkey is acting out of instinct; it probably doesn’t have the ability to recognize the danger of grasping the bait — or the fact that such behavior will have a dramatic impact on its future. But humans should be able to avoid falling into such a trap. We should be able to understand the danger of holding on to things that don’t serve us well. We should realize when we’re creating traps for ourselves.

My great-aunt told me once I was the most bull-headed child she had ever met. Sometimes that served me well; more often it kept me punching away long past good sense. 

 Unfortunately, most of the traps in life are those we create for ourselves. We hold on for dear life to things that don’t serve us well. We hold on to past mistakes; we cling to the privilege of being right; we won’t let go of anger and resentment; we become attached to material things that are of little value; and we often put our attachment to possessions ahead of our own well-being.

 Combining my stubbornness with the crazy ideas of my depression and paranoia produced nothing good. 

Except for some of my stories where I have a character who cannot turn loose of their obsession. Not quite up there with Captain Ahab's obsession with a certain whale since my characters are Hoosiers who operate in a lower key.

Having been sobered when I found out what I had wrought upon myself by aborting my plans for self-destruction. Considering why I made this choice, I only regret the choice every so often. Reading Orthodox Christian writers and Nietzsche and Albert Camus shifted my stubbornness from death to life. Which is how I came to the same conclusion as did the essay:

You have the ability to choose your treasures in life. You need to examine your life to determine if you’re being trapped by the things you treasure.

If we’re attached to things, we are restricted. Only by letting go can we be free.

Think about the obsessions of your life. Decide if they are poisonous to you. If in doubt, consider the White Whale.

sch 6/5/22