People who live in the forests and mountains of India have an age-old method of catching monkeys. They do not run after the monkeys, and they do not use ropes. Rather they rely on their understanding of a monkey's behavior. They carve pots with necks as long as a monkey's arm and a base large enough for a banana. The monkeys, eager to collect their food, put their arms down the neck of the jar until they have the banana in their tight grasp. Unable to pull it through the narrow neck, they sit holding their treasure, unwilling to release their grip for fear of losing it. Because they cannot give up the banana in their grasp, they remain immobilized, and the villagers simply pick them up.
We are all afraid of letting go of what is in our grasp, that is why we become prey to the domination of others, whether that be advertising, other people's will pressed upon us, or mindlessly following the crowd. We take a leap of faith when we "let go," but in that leap of faith we might find our freedom in a variety of small or big ways. I will release what my mind is clinging to and refusing to let go of.
What I hold onto, holds onto me.
