The Seven Monkeys of Man

Shakespeare proposed the ‘seven ages of man’. I’m proposing ‘seven monkeys of man’:

‘Little monkeys’ – Said of little children…  Childish monkeys are cheeky, a bit naughty. We know that they’re not perfect, but we accept their faults. Adult monkeys seek to correct their little monkeys. It’s term of endearment, acceptance.

‘Monkeying around’ – In the 1960s the Monkees sung… ‘Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees, people say we monkey around’. They represent young teenage monkeys without responsibilities who have fun, make their own music and do as they choose.

‘I don’t give a monkeys’ – an English phrase that means ‘I don’t care’, ‘I’m not interested’. Such monkeys are self-centred. Unconcerned about the needs or problems of other monkeys they look after number one monkey and their monkey-world.

‘Not my circus, not my monkeys’ – from an old Polish proverb. These monkeys are concerned about the monkeys in their circus but no others. They make clear boundaries – what they will do, who they will care for and those for whom they have no responsibility.

‘Monkey mind’ – A Buddhist phrase… Monkeys swings from branch to branch; the monkey mind seeks peace but jumps from one thought to another. Through mindfulness and meditation, the monkey seeks to replace restlessness and distraction with mental and spiritual calm.

‘Monkey off my back’ – Originating from various fables… The monkey, aware of its problems, guilt, addictions, seeks to be free of its load. It’s about removing the burden by discovering the Higher Power… a spiritual awakening… finding freedom, forgiveness… leading to compassion for the burdens of other monkeys.

‘Wise monkeys’ – originating from Japan… The three wise monkeys, symbolise ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ They seek to avoid evil thoughts, words, and actions in their monkey-world… developing moral integrity and purity in their monkey-community.

Musing: I confess I haven’t thought this through carefully… It’s a work in progress… I don’t think we move tidily from one monkey to the next… Perhaps there’s a bit of each monkey in each of us.