Reisverhaal «'on the road philosophy'»

Reisroute tot nu toe... | Thailand | 0 Reacties 24 April 2012 - Laatste Aanpassing 24 April 2012

On the first page of my notebook, I've glued to following story that I received from my friend Jacoba before leaving Belgium.
It keeps on inspiring me every day and I would like to share this with you.

"I was not even 4 months old when my mother took my older brother, my older sister and me to live in Ivory Coast, Africa. My mother, this wild olive-skin beauty with dark hair and light blue eyes, had peculiar reasons to emigrate on the African soil. One of them was to live and pursue her childhood dream (having an army of kids and animals all living in perfect harmony on her African farm) but also to empirically understand the teachings of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey (renowned primatologists) who had fed her teenage's thirst for adventure. Throughout my life, my mother has offered me a buffet of precious teachings that I modified and adapted according to my personality. The intellectual meals she would serve us could and should be seasoned to our taste and individual needs. Here is one of her teachings that I have spiced up with my own experiences.
So let me ask you: do you know how to catch a chimpanzee without hurting it?
It is pointless to run, climb trees, use heavy artillery or to benefit from our scientific advancements.It's simple; all you need is a small box with a hole in it and a banana. Place the banana inside the box and wait. Chimps are extremely ingenious creatures who can improvise pragmatic behaviors according to the situation. They need only a few seconds before understanding that they will have to put their arm through the tiny hole in order to reach the banana. However, once the fruit is held, their fist becomes too large to exit from the hole. Nothing prevents them from freeing themselves but their own stubborn resolve to get the banana out of the box. Now, all one needs to do is to slowly walk to the box and catch the self-condemned primate.
When talking to my friends and to people I meet along the road, we often come to a conversation that saddens me: Freedom.
Many admire my freedom and the way I live my life, many would love to live this way and many complain about their daily routine. So I tell them this story and insist that I dropped a lot of bananas to be where I am today. Nothing stops us from living fully but ourselves, and unawarely most of the time. We are the masters of self-limitations. So I am inviting you to truly think over what is Your banana, and drop it. Because, once you have dropped your banana and you freed yourself from yourself, you will be surprised to see that there are tons of other bananas around waiting for you to embrace them. Alas, not much can be done for those unaware that they are holding a banana"

(Keveen Gabet)