Remember the 100th Monkey

With all the craziness around us, with all these mandates and scary headlines, I want to encourage all those questioning, challenging, and going against the current cultural “norms” to remember the 100th monkey.

In a remote island-filled area of the world, a species of monkey was being studied and observed, like many others of its kind.

These monkeys loved to pick wild yams, take them up into the tree, and eat as they squawked away.

Then there was finally the 100th monkey that came down to join the ocean-washing beach-eating band of monkeys, and at that point, researchers around the world studying this species of monkeys noticed monkeys thousands of miles apart start to do the exact same thing.

It was at this point that observing researchers around the world who had been spending years studying this species of monkeys, suddenly noticed monkeys thousands of miles apart starting to do the exact same thing. Getting down out of their trees and wash their yams in the ocean before they ate them.

There were no monkey-to-monkey transoceanic group texts, Facebook lives or TikTok postings to unify them. They hit what is called a “critical mass.”

My friends, the behavior of challenging these mostly accepted new cultural “norms” is in the pre-critical mass stage. As you question the decisions, rebel against the masks, break the stay-at-home order, and know the general population band of squawking monkeys is still up in their tree.

More and more of us are leaving the branches, going to the water’s edge, and putting our feet in the sand.

You are not alone, and your message is being heard over the rude, shaming, accusatory chatter of the ones still up the tree.

It won’t be long until more and more people get the urge to feel the sun or are encouraged by others to leave the “norm” and join in.

At some point, we will hit a critical mass, and people will venture out and start to question and act against what they once supported…. many will not even really know why but it suddenly felt right, made sense, and the old felt wrong or misled.

That is how it works. No convincing is needed; it is energetic and part of our consciousness.

In time those who remain smug up in their trees in our post-critical mass world will look out of place and inconsistent with the “times” as we down at the surf questioning the “norm” look to the masses right now. Consider Grandma’s objection to computers….and an example of pre-critical mass thinking in a post-critical mass world.

Our job is to question the basis of science and learning, act on what we believe, and do what is right for the US and our family. When enough people do this, the community at large takes care of itself…..We are society, each ONE of us.

Follow your gut, keep learning, and keep challenging. I am right there with you.

We can do better my friends!
Dr. Don