Don’t Let Junk Make a Monkey Out of You

Do you know the story of the monkey traps? When hunters discovered how greedy and possessive monkeys were, instead of catching them with nets and spears. they took coconuts, made a hole in each of them, tied them to a tree, and went home. The hunters would return the following day to find dozens of wild monkeys unharmed, with their little hands stuck in a coconut. How did this work? Simple: the hole in the coconut was cut just big enough for a monkey’s hand to squeeze through; inside the coconut, they had placed some tasty goodies ( maybe monkey M&Ms). The monkeys would sneak up on the trap, smell the bait, reach in, grab a fistful of whatever, and when they tried to bring their hand out, the fistful would not pass through the hole. The monkeys all jumped and screamed to get free but were unwilling to release the bait; they were caught.

Now, being an intelligent human, you instantly think,” Why didn’t the silly monkeys let go of the stuff, pull their hands out, and run away? Well, they didn’t because they are, in respect, human. They refused to let go of something they had. To hang on meant being caught, but the thrill of possession overruled all risk and reason.

We could all entertain a crowd of monkeys for hours with our “junk traps. " All of us have clamped onto things, and even though they have us trapped and immobilized, we hang on, refusing to release and run away to safer things. The monkeys at least have the excuse of being hungry. We want our junk so much that our minds, like the monkeys' fists, close up, and there is no letting go.

Too often, we confuse ownership with companionship, not realizing that certain things, even good things, change and lose their value, and we don’t need them anymore. We have outgrown or outlasted them, or something new and better has come along. We need to release them, but in our greed, possessiveness, and “loyalty,” we outdo the monkey and hang on even at the peril of our physical and spiritual lives.

There is wisdom in letting go of things, so don’t let junk make a monkey out of you.