THE STUBBORN MONKEY
A story of “learning to let go”
Once upon a time, there was an old wise man and his son sitting together around a campfire in the middle of a rainforest. The man turned to his son and asked,
“Do you know how hunters of old times used to trap monkeys?”
His son looked curious but said nothing. The old man then continued to explain by saying,
“Rather than chasing them up a tree or shooting arrows from below, they’d put a heavy glass jar with a narrow neck on the floor, which had the monkeys’ favorite food inside. They would then step back and hide somewhere, waiting for the unsuspecting monkey to approach the jar of food. When the hungry monkey finally arrived, it would reach inside the jar, clench its fist around the food, and try to pull it out. However, the narrow neck of the jar would prevent the poor monkey from getting its hand out!”
The young boy was further intrigued and asked of his father,
“So what did the hungry monkey do Dad?”
The father replied,
“Son, It would pull and pull, tug and tug, but to no avail. There was simply no way to get its hand out of the jar without releasing the food. Rather than letting go, and moving on to find something else to eat, the monkey would persevere, refusing to drop its dinner for fear that it would never find something to eat ever again. The hunters would then approach this stubborn monkey and catch it so as to enjoy a meal of their own!”
The boy look shocked!
“Don’t be like that monkey Son,” warned the man, “In life, to fight another day and grow as person, you must know when to quit, when to move on, and when to let go of whatever’s holding you back.”
ALWAYS REMEMBER…
Sometimes you have to let go and give up what you have now in order to receive something better in the future. How can anything of great value be received in the palm of your hand when it is tightly gripped around something of lesser value? Don’t let stubbornness and desire be your downfall in life!
