Emma and the monkey trap....

I am not totally sure what has motivated me to begin a blog. I suppose it has as much to do with boredom as anything. I do not feel my life is anything others would likely find interesting or exceptional, but here I am publishing for a select few, the quintessence of my innermost thoughts and observations...

So, Emma and the monkey trap...I was sitting in church today and was feeding my 1 year old daughter, Emma, teddy grahams from a small container. At her core my little girl is an Asay...those reading this will understand without further elucidation... and therefore wanted all of the teddy grahams in her hands. She achieved a close approximation and proceeded gorging herself. Soon bored with the mauling of the slobbery graham tasties, she wanted very badly to put her remaining treats back into the container...but she did not want to do this one at a time. The problem was that her fist would not fit into the opening while maintaining the grasp of all the teddies, but she would not allow me to hold her prizes enabling her to replace them one at a time, so she became frustrated.

I have read about humane monkey traps that work in a similar fashion, the researchers place a nut or other food item in a cage with openings big enough for the little primates to get their hands in but once the treat is grasped the hand can't be withdrawn unless the creature is willing to release it's hold...most weren't so that sat there and waited for whomever to come along and grab them.

I find this mildly disturbing and analogous to situations I have encountered in my life. As I look around I see many traps that would seemingly be easy to avoid...but baring that easily escaped from if people would just let go of the enticing treat that is responsible for entrapping them. Heck, I need only look in the mirror and all that it reflects to see my little mitts firmly adhered to nuts of one kind or another that are preventing me from reaching where I want to go...Lamoni's father had it right, upon hearing the Word through Aaron he uttered this profound key, "...I will give away all my sins to know thee..."(Alma 22:18) Sins are the treat and to be free all we must do is let them go...so easy in principle, and yet so difficult in practice.

I hope I can do a better job letting go of those things that are slowing my progression, and also help Emma and my other kids understand that in spite of what they see at family gatherings gluttonly is not requisite and can be overcome.