In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.”

~ Deepak Chopra

What is your banana?

There is a way of catching monkeys in Asia that takes advantage of the monkey’s obsession with holding on. A coconut is hollowed out and a small hole is drilled in it just big enough for a monkey’s open hand to slip in, but the monkey’s clenched fist can’t pass through. A banana, or some other tempting food item, is placed inside the coconut, which is tethered to a tree, so it can’t be moved. When the monkey reaches it’s hand through the hole to grab the food in its fist, it can’t escape unless it lets go of the food. The monkeys are easily captured this way even though they could escape if they were just to let go.

We have a tendency to try holding on to those things that we want and, at the same time, become obsessed about avoiding those things we don’t want. In the practice of Mindfulness, we are taught: :

to let go of those things we want and
to approach those things we want to avoid

In so doing, we can appreciate the present moment more.

We have been talking about mindfulness and the attitudes that will enhance our ability to be more mindful. To reiterate the theme over the last 7 blogs, the main benefit of being mindful is that we simply see things as they are, accept ourselves for who we are, and are available for what is happening now, rather than living in the past or the future. The first 6 pillars or attitudes covered in the previous articles are: