“Let’s further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes. THEN IT HAPPENED! By that evening almost every [monkey] in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them.” “… the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea.” – Ken Keyes Jr. (1921 – ) spiritual author on enlightenment
In what ways have you felt enlightenment as a result of your connection with others, lately?
The Japanese Tale of ‘The 100th Monkey Effect’ (4:07)
The Divide – Linkin Park (4:27)
Gratitude Viewed thru Time Lapsed Nature Shots LP (9:55)
The Stag and His Reflection:
There once lived a proud stag. While wandering in the forest, he came upon a pond. He stopped there to drink water in order to quench his thirst. As he bent down, he saw his own reflection in the water. “How beautiful are my antlers!” he thought, admiring its long curves.
As the stag was admiring his antlers, he suddenly noticed his legs. “Ohh! Look at my skinny legs. I cannot believe God has given me both beautiful antlers and such ugly legs,” he thought. The proud stag now felt ashamed of his legs. His pride vanished. “These ugly legs are no match for my beautiful antlers,” he thought.
Just then the stag heard the roar of a lion. When he turned around he saw a lion charging at him. “Oh no!,” screamed the stag and ran as fast as he could.
The stag felt the lion’s breath close to him, “I must get into the densest part of the forest where there are many branches. The lion will not be able to catch me in that part of the forest,” thought the stag.
So, with this thought in mind, the stag ran into an area where there were many bushes and branches. Soon the stag had left the lion far behind.
“Ah, I outsmarted the lion,” thought the stag proudly. But all of a sudden his antlers got entangled between the trunks of two trees standing close to each other. “Aaarghh!” cried the stag, as he had to stop at once.
The more he tried to free himself, the more difficult it became. As the stag was struggling to get free, the lion came nearer and nearer.
“How I praised my horns and cursed my legs. Now I know the real value of my legs which almost took me to safety,” wailed the stag.
The lion pounced on the stag and killed him. That was the end of the proud stag.
TODAY’S FEATURED POST “It took me a while to reconcile the first three Steps with the core concepts of 12-Step Programs. I sat in a lot of meetings waiting to hear “the answer.” I wanted to know what I could do to cure myself and cure others in my life. Finally, I stopped my internal conversation (judging others, taking their inventories, comparing myself to others) long enough to begin to hear the shares of others – hear of their incredible spiritual journeys. I am still in the process of learning the full impact of Steps 1, 2, and 3. I am still discovering what my Higher Power is all about.” (Orig. post 1/26/2022)
I totally agree with Jim . Today I believe in connection as my strength.
I’m watching this story about the NY triplets in the 90’s that were part of a horrible experiment on the nurture vs. nature debate. But it was so morally flawed from the inception. It gives me great relief that something like that hadn’t happened to me as a kid but it also makes me worry about how many other studies like this are done in the name of science. That we must all cherish and treat with great respect the fragility of our humanity because it’s so easy to start down a dark path and get lost along the way.
Monkey see monkey do. I need to be aware of who I am copying. Surrounding myself with good people.
I’m not sure that I have…or if that is even important..in the grand scheme of things. Being connected to others has its importance, but I find that it is being disconnected from myself that is often problematic.
I know what you mean margot! listening to got through others was a big step for me ..still is.