Bali, June 2018
The small, grey monkey is closely watching two unaware tourists, awaiting his moment to pounce. As one of them places her bottle—filled with a brightly-coloured liquid—on the bench momentarily, the monkey springs into action. He leaps acrobatically from his branch, and within the blink of an eye has the bottle in his hand. In another moment he is bounding up to a low-hanging branch with a wry smile across his face.
The monkey displays his cleverness by holding onto the branch with one powerful arm, gripping the bottle in another hand, as he unscrews the lid with his third hand. His fourth hand is hanging freely, ready to brush away any curious friends who have seen him steal the prize. He has clearly watched humans undo lids and drink from bottles numerous times and now he does the same. He appears to be gloating—his head high in the air—as he guzzles down the sweet liquid.
A much larger monkey appears on the scene, but the clever monkey spies him from a distance. He hides his newly stolen prize under his hairy armpit and sends a smile to the enormous, alpha male in front of him. The larger monkey, completely ignorant to what had happened moments before, continues along with his early morning adventure.
The clever monkey has me spellbound. He is like a super yogi, stretching out one powerful arm after the other as he effortlessly ascends the highest tree. At the top, he wraps his powerful torso around the trunk and elegantly perches himself at an incredible height above the canopy. I can still see his cheeky smile, as he once again unscrews the lid and enjoys his morning sugar hit. Above the canopy, he is hidden away from his monkey accomplices, who might want to share his bounty.
In the next instant, however, the clever monkey’s weakness is revealed. Distracted by a nearby rustle in the trees, he drops his bottle and leaps down from his hiding place, excited for the next adventure. Soon he discovers that the rustle is nothing but two young baby monkeys playing with each other. When he realises the cause of his distraction, he bows his head—his posture reflecting his disappointment at sacrificing that moment of pure contentment, high up in paradise. His cleverness served him well this morning, but his mind’s inability to stay focussed has revealed a deep, inner weakness.
The clever monkey is a reminder for us. We can make our bodies strong and athletic. We can work out smart ways to accumulate possessions. We can utilise our clever brains to solve problems, deal with obstacles and do the things we need to do effectively. But can we stay focused? Can we concentrate on the task at hand without being led astray by distractions?
With the exponential rise of devices, technology and sensory distraction, the landscape is very different to how it was twenty years ago. It is a well-established fact that our attention spans are rapidly reducing.
Now is the time to return to the foundation of yoga—to quiet the fluctuations of the mind. The call to meditate has never been stronger.
“ Are you an unconscious slave to your mind? Or is your mind a conscious servant to your highest potential?” Elena Brower
With love,
Gwyn
