5. Do people sometimes trap themselves by holding onto
things that they should let go? Do you?
Greed/wants/demands/self
This story is often used to illustrate the power of ___________________________.
People get trapped by the trappings of success, by wealth, and by a limitless desire to
acquire and hold onto material things — even when the things they hold do not give them
what they want or need. But there are other dimensions to the story as well. Many people
trap themselves by holding onto negative feelings — resentment, anger, and jealousy —
that both lessen and limit their lives. Like the monkey who derives no pleasure or
nourishment from the nuts he holds in his hand, we can derive nothing of value from
these negative emotions. Many of us could improve our lives instantly by the simple act of
letting go. It’s so simple, yet so hard.
6. A man feared his wife wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a
hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family Doctor to discuss the
problem. The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give
the Doctor a better idea about her hearing loss.
Here's what you do, said the Doctor, stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal
conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on
until you get a response.
That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to
himself, I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens.
Then in a normal tone he asks, Honey, what's for dinner? No response. So the husband moves
to closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, Honey, what's for dinner? Still
no response. Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and
asks, Honey, what's for dinner?
Again he gets no response so he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. Honey, what's
for dinner? Again there is no response. So he walks right up behind her.
Honey, what's for dinner? James, for the FIFTH time I've said, CHICKEN!
The problem may not be with the other as we always think.
Editor's Notes
Many years ago a man came to a village in India to catch monkeys so he could sell them to zoos. The monkeys, however, were very clever and every sort of trap he set failed. A young boy watched the man’s pathetic efforts and laughed. The man said, ―If you can catch me a monkey I’ll give you $2. (That was a huge amount of money then.)The boy went to his home and took a clay pot with a narrow neck. He placed a few nuts around the pot and put lots of nuts inside. He then tied the pot to a tree and he told the man, ―We should have a monkey in a few hours. Let’s wait in the village. The monkey will call us when he is ready.
Sure enough, a band of monkeys soon discovered the nuts and the pot. One slipped his hand in the pot and grabbed a handful of nuts, but he couldn’t pull his hand out of the narrow opening of the pot because his fist was clenched. The monkey panicked and started making loud noises. Some of the other monkeys tried unsuccessfully to pull the pot off his hand.
The boy and the man heard the ruckus and the boy got a sack. As they approached the monkeys they all ran away except the one with its hand in the pot. The boy grabbed the monkey and the pot. The man was amazed and asked the boy the secret of his monkey trap.The boy laughed and said, ―The monkey could have easily got his hand back out and escaped, but he would have had to let go of the nuts in the pot, and he just wasn’t willing to let go. They never are.
