What a Photo Snapping Macaque Taught Me About Courage

What a Photo Snapping Macaque Taught Me About Courage Hi there! Recognize the picture above? Last year, the photos went viral because the world thought it was cute to see a monkey smiling for the camera. But what if I were to tell you that picture and the ones below were actually taken by the monkey herself? WHAT?!?! No! Its true. The photographer who should have been snapping the pictures, David Slater, was probably the last person expecting to come home with world famous photographs of this rare crested black macaque. Most wildlife photographers have to hide out in cover and wait for the perfect moment to snap their beautiful photos, but not David. After spending some time taking walks with this particular pack of monkeys, he felt comfortable leaving his camera gear unattended. Little did he know what would happen shortly after. Helping themselves to Slaters gear, one of the monkeys picked up his camera, turned it around and SNAP! The sound frightened her. She dropped the camera and the whole pack trampled Davids gear as they fled from the danger. After some time passed, they were curious, and came back slowly, like a child wading into the frigid ocean. Building up the courage the monkey picked up the camera once again, this time glaring its teeth, as if saying, Hey, Im not afraid of you. SULAWESI or CRESTED BLACK MACAQUE (Macaca nigra).Sulawesi, Indonesia. She then proceeded to take hundreds of blurry and random pictures as she examined her new wonder. By now, David was getting a bit eager. After all, what good were these self portraits if the camera didnt make it out alive. So it was inevitable that he would make it into some of the photos as well. But it got me thinking, I wish I could conquer my fears like a macaque Yes, I want to devolve and be more like a monkey. Heres why. 1. Macaques Dont Live What Ifs These are rare monkeys. There are now just over a 100,000 of the monkeys left in the world and are considered critically endangered. Yet they probably dont think about just how frightening that is. They dont spend everyday hiding in a cave in fear that some poacher will mount their head on a wall. Yet I do. Well not in fear of my head being put on a wall but in fear of other things. What if I fail? What if I look stupid? What if I say the wrong things? 2. Macaques Dont Let One Bad Experience Stop Them From Trying Again. When something goes bad I turn and run. Never to experience it again. And more often than not, I miss out on an opportunity. What would have happened if I just practiced piano a few more years, tried that shepards pie one more time, or sent out one more resume? These macaques didnt have those regrets. A camera freaks them outno big deal, just grin and push buttons. 3. Macaques Dont Fear Change I found it amazing that the monkeys were able to adapt so quickly to having a new living being following them around. In the picture above, it even looks like one of the monkeys is holding Davids hand. Are humans that accommodating of new things or people entering our lives? Maybe. I was at a friends house last week for dinner. When we got there they let my wife and I know that they had invited a stranger to eat with us. I didnt say anything, but just thought, okay, that should be interesting. He was a friend of a friend, so at least he had that going for him. Without hesitating, our host openly admitted, I didnt want to have dinner with someone Id never met before, so I felt better inviting you over too. The last person we tried this with was a complete creeper. The guest turned out to be an interesting person, but we all had our nerves up and were hesitant at first. And I sure wasnt holding his hand before he left. Theres a Tarzan in Each of Us So what will I do differently? From now on, when fear starts to creep its ugly little head in my life, Ill dig into my inner Tarzan and show fear whos the king of this jungle. Lose the fear. No more What Ifs Enjoy change. images courtesy of caters and AZRainman