The Briar Philosopher - Monkey Trap

Monkey Trap

In the jungles of Southeast Asia, and several other places I’ve been told, there is an age-old trick used to catch a monkey. There are several variations of this monkey trap but they are all based on the same principle. A coconut shell or hollow gourd is tied to a stake or tree. A hole is made in the shell and some piece of fruit or other food tempting to monkeys is placed inside. The hole is just large enough for the monkey to get his hand inside but not large enough to get in out once the prize is grasped in his fist. Once the food is in his grasp the monkey is trapped. That may seem like a ridiculously ineffective trap. All the monkey has to do is open his hand and run for his life. But the monkey’s life becomes forfeit in the moment he grasps his prize, for the monkey will not let go. He will not let go even if there is a whole tree of perfectly ripe bananas growing nearby. He will not let go if the hunters come to bag him or take his life. Whether offered life in abundance or death itself he will not let go. 
Stupid monkey!!! There you have it! There’s no way we could have come from such unintelligent short sighted creatures and even if we did we have evolved so far we would never fall for such a simple trick. 
We would let go of the prize! 
We would cut the string! 
We would find a way to both survive and keep the prize and have the other bananas too! 
We would…….ummmm…..we would…..sorry…what were we talking about? I got distracted. I seem to have a coconut stuck on my hand. What’s that you say? Let go of what’s in it? But I can’t. You see that’s my stuff in there. That’s my lost love. That’s my painful childhood. That’s my dream of becoming an archeologist. That’s my etc, etc, etc, ad infinitum, ad nauseum….. mea, mea, mea, mea, mine! 
Face it folks, it’s a rare person that doesn’t have the hand of his heart caught in a monkey trap of some kind or other. And that trap is usually tied firmly to the tree of our past. Some of us have been holding on to things for so long we don’t even remember what’s in the coconut. We just feel that we’d lose a piece of ourselves if we let it go. We know it must be precious or we wouldn’t have been holding on to it for so long…wouldn’t have missed so many opportunities, wouldn’t have said no to so many possibilities, wouldn’t have sabotaged ourselves so many times to keep it in our hand, in our heart, in our mind. 
What’s in your coconut? Love you wished you’d had? Grief you wish you’d missed? Dreams? Doubts? Pride? Fear? Anger? Shame? 
These things exist in all of us of course to one degree or another. They only become a trap when they are holding us back from what we should be, could be, want to be in our heart of hearts. 
We are being offered so many things – life in abundance – joy untold- learning and laughter and love - ripe bananas by the tree full. We are being threatened by so many things - things that could ruin us, capture us in mediocrity, steal our health and life away. And yet we stand, strapped securely to past, grasping toward the things we truly want but unable to let go long enough to reach them. And yet we stand, screeching out our fear and sense of powerlessness at the things which would assail us and we will not let go. 
Let go people. Life is all around you. The present calls. The future waits. Let go and run for your LIFE!