Whittle your worries. Adopt a monkey.

“Trapping and selling wild monkeys was a lucrative business in Mexico at one time. Poachers would capture them by placing containers in the forest with a piece of sweet coconut meat. The container had a hole barely large enough for the monkey to put its hand in and grip the coconut. But if the monkey tried to withdraw its hand, it found that as long as it kept a grip on the food it stayed trapped. If it let loose of what it wanted, it immediately went free.”

From the book, The Napkin, the Melon & the Monkey

This is one of my favorite stories because being too attached to the outcome of situations that are beyond my personal control is a constant struggle. So much so, that I have a stuffed monkey who sits on my desk to remind me to just “let it go!.”

I found myself falling into yet another attachment trap the other day.

As many of you know, I recently sold the rights to The Napkin, the Melon & the Monkey to a terrific publisher. Hay House plans to issue their hardcover version early next year and market it throughout the world. One of the things on my pre-pub “to do” list is to invite a Famous Published Author to write the forward for the book.

Several weeks ago I contacted a Famous Published Author whose name you’d probably recognize.  When I talked with him on the phone he told me that he loved my book and would be delighted to write the forward, but he’d have to ask his agent because writing a forward was a “business decision.” The next day I sent an email, thanking him for considering my request.

That was more than a month ago. I have heard nothing. Nada. Not a word. I told my agent (someone who I consider an Isabel) how disappointed I was and she said that I should just let it go and go on to the two other Famous Published Authors on our list. I did let it go. I’m over it now (almost entirely….).

Later today my monkey and I have a meeting scheduled to review my current list of worries, one by one. If any of the worries are deemed to be beyond my control and a waste of energy, I will strike them off my list. I bet I whittle that list down to a reasonable few.

Don’t worry. Be happy.  Adopt a monkey of your own.