“Lord, please…. I just want to sleep! My monkey mind is chattering away, and it won’t quiet. It Zip zaps all over, jumping from one thought, one plan, one project to another. So so noisy. Help me please.”

“Get up and come to me.”

“Penny, we have to go..…now!”

So, I got up way early in the morning not having slept at all. Penny was all eagerness as we went out the door. No need for a leash, she made a beeline for the path. It was just pre-dawn.

I went in and there was no one waiting for us. Ok, I thought, maybe they are all asleep. Lucky them I grumped.

As I walked down the path, before the bend to the right and the Meadow, I heard a loud commotion. Following my ears, and Penny her nose, we found a path and went into the trees. As we walked, Penny went on alert. Her tail was still and straight back, her ears were up and forward, and her sniffer was in high gear. The noises got louder, and it sounded like a million false teeth chattering. Gracious, what can it be? In my fatigue and grumpiness, I was not at all excited about a blast of noise. I wanted to see the Lord and find a cot and sleep. Harrumph. 

Then the trees thinned out and the path opened up to a very large clearing. Not like the Meadow or the Plain, but many tall trees with little underbrush. The chattering was almost too much now, and I wanted to run. I looked up and discovered that the trees were full of monkeys!

I started to laugh, and my laughter got deeper and so powerful that I could not stand up. I sat; rather abruptly, and then lay in my back to watch.

“It’s not the cot you wanted, but I thought you could use a laugh,” he said, sitting down beside me. 

“I am so glad to see you. Teach me how to deal with my monkey mind.”

“First, you have to learn about monkeys. Tell me what you notice.”

Sorting out was hard because they were all jumping from limb to limb, chattering away like it was some big game. No rhyme or reason that I could see. 

“There is too much commotion.”

“Pick one and follow it.”

I spotted a big male Capuchin with its light ruff and long dark tail. Here again watching nature programs is paying off. I know there are over 200 different kinds of monkeys and as I looked, I understood that part of the confusion in the canopy was that there were many kinds mixed together. Not what would be true outside the Place. The one I chose, I named him Ruff, was in a tree that had two big branches come together to make a seat. He had his tail wrapped around one of the branches and was loudly screaming his great displeasure at all the monkeys that dared come near him. Every now and again, he would swing around the branch, round back up, jump up and down and scream some more. Didn’t seem to keep any away. 

Further up in the tree, almost hidden away by the leaves were mother and small baby. She had her back to the trunk and was hold on to the baby so tightly that it could not wiggle. Her eyes were wide open, and she looked frightened. She was a small Vervet monkey with a black face, white fringe, and a light grey body. I think that they are quite pretty.

In another tree I spotted a large male Proboscis with a huge nose. He looked to weigh about 50 pounds and was very vocal in defending his territory. With that nose, he could be heard above all the chatter, screaming, and carrying on. Impressive. All around him in the tree, dark brown Spider monkeys were playing. With their long tail and limbs, they moved from tree to tree with ease. They were the chatterers. It was a joy to watch them command the canopy as they swung from one treetop to another. It was like a choreographed dance, reminding me of an act in the finals of America’s Got Talent where the troop of gymnasts were moving in, around, up and over each other in a synchronized display of talent. 

As I had been looking up, I had not noticed the ones on the ground. They were coming to say hi to their Creator, a pattern I have noticed so often. Rhesus monkeys were the predominant ones, with their long tails, and pink faces. I saw several nursing moms with babies. Coming to Jesus to show them off like proud moms. 

Now, Penny did not know what to make of all this. The sounds were a bit much for her sensitive hearing, not to overlook the smells. She stayed close to both of us. Lying down between us, whimpering at times. Especially when the Proboscis male would scream through his nose. 

When the ones on the ground put in an appearance, she was more interested. She moved out from her safe spot to say hello. Her ears were up, but her tail was up, but not wagging. She was venturing out, but nervous. Jesus made a soft noise and she relaxed, her tail in a happy wag. There was one juvenile, a female I think, that responded to her. They began to chase each other with Penny’s happy bark and the monkey’s answering chatter. 

The rest, many kinds that I did not know the name of, circled us and then sat waiting. The young ones were quick to come to Jesus, and he sat up to welcome them. I sat up also and could better distinguish the variety around us. The baboon like one, with its black/white striped nose with a red tip and the light blue on their rump. I spotted the golden one, small but lovely. There was a big light grey male that was the kind that lives in the cold in Japan by the hot springs. And then the traditional baboon with its straight tail, long grey fur, and pinkish grey noise. They were big. But all in all, were quite polite and did not compete for Jesus’ attention. They took turns coming up to say hello. He would make some sound and give them a pat, looking at them in their eyes. They were not interested in me. The little ones did come close, only to run back to mom’s arms or to climb on her back.

Then the noise level ratcheted up, the Howlers had arrived. Swinging through the trees and howling all the while. It was very unpleasant as much as I enjoyed watching all the movement. Jesus made a movement with his hand, and a sound. The monkeys all moved to a place on the ground or in a tree and stopped moving, and even better stopped chattering. It was quiet. Penny returned to us and lay down panting but happy. 

“Lord, that was a real treat, but I suspect there is a lesson for me.”

“Yes, what was my only instruction?”

“To pick one and follow it.”

“And why did you pick Ruff?”

“He stayed in one place, was very loud, was jumping up and down, and then he did that cool swinging around with his tail. He caught my attention.”

“So, what about the monkeys in your mind? What have you learned?”

“Instead of trying to pay attention to everything, pick one thought and follow it until I have learned what it wants to say. Then go on to the next one.”

“Yes, and…?”

“Take each thought one at a time.”

“Correct but think about why you chose the other ones.”

“Hum, the next one was the mother and baby, and she stayed in one place. It was lovely to see her with her child.”

“So, no loud defensive behavior, but stillness.”

“Yea, the next one was the loud weird looking one that command attention. He seemed more like a clown, all bluff and bother without any real danger. The ones that look like spiders are a delight to watch, I smiled watching them.”

“What about the ones on the ground?”

“There are some interesting individuals, but for the most part they all kind of blended into a group. Sort of secondary, or background. It was the ones in the trees that caught my eye.”

“What about the thoughts?”

“Focus on one at a time, ask myself why that particular thought is important, listen until I get the message, and move on to the next one.”

“When you focused on Ruff, how did your consciousness of all the monkeys change?”

“They faded into the background.”

He smiled that wonderful smile of love he gives me, “Time to go home to bed.”

Penny was on her feet, tail wagging for a hug. I had no tail to wag but wanted one too.

Well hugged, we headed home to bed.