Monkey and his baggage

There once was a happy monkey wandering the jungle, eating delicious fruit when hungry, and resting when tired. One day he came upon a house, where he saw a bowl of the most beautiful apples. He took one in each hand and ran back into the forest.

He sniffed the apples and smelled nothing. He tried to eat them, but hurt his teeth. They were made of wood, but they were beautiful, and when the other monkeys saw them, he held onto them even tighter.

He admired his new possessions proudly as he wandered the jungle. They glistened red in the sun, and seemed perfect to him. He became so attached to them, that he didn’t even notice his hunger at first.

A fruit tree reminded him, but he felt the apples in his hands. He couldn’t bear to set them down to reach for the fruit. In fact, he couldn’t relax, either, if he was to defend his apples. A proud, but less happy monkey continued to walk along the forest trails.

The apples became heavier, and the poor little monkey thought about leaving them behind. He was tired, hungry, and he couldn’t climb trees or collect fruit with his hands full. What if he just let go?

Letting go of such valuable things seemed crazy, but what else could he do? He was so tired. Seeing the next fruit tree, and smelling its fruit was enough. He dropped the wooden apples and reached up for his meal. He was happy again.

Conclusion

Like that little monkey, we sometimes carry things that seem too valuable to let go. A man carries an image of himself as “productive” - carries it like a shiny wooden apple. But in reality, his busyness leaves him tired, and hungry for a better life.

Still, letting go seems crazy. Even his worries are sacred apples - they prove he’s “doing everything he can.” He holds onto them compulsively.

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I received this in a forwarded e-mail.

But I don’t believe in the conclusion of the story. I don’t feel we should drop the sacred apples; rather while picking up those apples the monkey should have checked whether they are real or not. Similarly, in our lives too we tend to pick up many things without thinking about them.

However, even if I accept that the apples looked so real that the monkey too it for real, I would say that later, when he realized that the apples were not real, he had a clear straight choice. He could have thought that if he’d kept holding onto these apples, he would not have any food. And, if he dropped them, he could get some real apples. These apples
gave him pride and honor amongst other monkeys, but real apples would satisfy his hunger.

Letting go doesn’t seem crazy. He again made a wrong choice. In his ‘greed’ he made a wrong choice. It is not that he doesn’t realize that the apples are wooden, but he consciously chooses to keep them because of the pride factor.

But ultimately he has to lose out to hunger and his wrong decisions show up.

 

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