An Ape In My Car
A few years ago we spent a week in Spain and as part of the trip we went to the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ to visit the apes that lived there. In reality they were not apes but Barbary macaques (monkeys), often referred to as Barbary apes1. We hired a guide and were warned to be careful because they were uncaged wild animals that usually tolerated tourists but would bite if frightened.
We were surprised how friendly and fearless they seemed. They came up to us, begged for food, jumped on our shoulders, let us take their picture, and one of them (the My wife didn’t want her picture taken with them so I walked her to the car where I opened the door for her. Before I could shut the door an unexpected visitor jumped in with her. It was a friendly ape. I was worried that she wanted a hug but she really only wanted to steal a bag of potato chips. Before either of us could react this thief was out of the car and onto the roof tightly holding her contraband.
As I thought about this event, I became curious about the ape’s daring act of thievery. I realized that she survived and thrived because she was a creature of instinct, like the ape our children can learn to survive and thrive by developing risk-taking skills. There are obvious differences but both involve them stepping out of their comfort zone and trying new approaches to life’s challenges.
The ape’s risk taking was rewarded with temporary gratification while our children’s risk taking can be rewarded with personal strength and resilience that can last a lifetime. Of course this is only achieved through their courage and perseverance.
1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_macaques_in_Gibraltar
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