Learn To Let It Go

It is helpful to realize that most of the problems we often worry about are bound to us by the hold we have upon them. There is a story of an expedition of scientists who were on a mission to capture a particular species of monkeys in the jungles of Africa. It was important that the monkeys be brought back alive and unharmed.

Using their knowledge of monkey habits, the scientists devised a trap consisting of a small jar with a long, narrow neck. They placed a handful of nuts into the jar. Several of these jars were tied down, and the scientists returned to their camp, confident of catching the monkeys.

Smelling the nuts in the bottle, the monkey's would reach their paws into the long neck and take a fistful of nuts. But when they tried to withdraw the prize, they discovered that their clenched fists would not pass through the narrow neck of the bottle. So, they were trapped by the anchored bottle, unable to escape with their prize and yet unwilling to let it go. When the scientists returned, they easily took the monkeys captive.

We may smile at the monkey story, thinking how foolish they were, but in some respects we are just like them. We cling to the very things that hold us back, remaining captive through sheer unwillingness to let go.

When we feel we have been unjustly treated, it’s often easy to feel hurt and we then act out against the one we feel has wronged us. Doing so is the equivalent of holding onto the handful of nuts and being trapped, spending too much time complaining about being tied to a bottle, but unwilling to let go.

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