The Monkey on My Shoulder Was a Squirrel, I Released it & Gained Peace

What is the meaning of a “monkey on your shoulder” or a “monkey on your back”? You know, the monkey that doesn’t exactly give you good advice? I looked it up, I just had to! Believe it or not, there are many interpretations and explanations, but essentially the monkey is a carrying a burden or problem that is a major source of irritation. My monkey just happens to be a squirrel.

It all started and ended with a dream on Friday morning. Bear with me, I have very vivid dreams and this one is no exception. In my dream, I had a squirrel for a pet. A real, live squirrel. This squirrel went everywhere with me: work, shopping, hiking, driving, you name it.  I even had a sock purse with an over the shoulder strap. The purse had openings for its tail and legs, and at the top opening its cute little head peered out to give me great joy. But as the dream advanced I began to learn that the squirrel was becoming a real problem when it came to access to some places I wanted to be at.

“No, sorry, no squirrels allowed”. Or, “You can’t bring that squirrel in here!” Better yet, “Really, lady, a squirrel??” Oh dear, my squirrel was no longer welcome. Heavy sigh.

Next, I found myself at Fred Meyer which is just plain odd since the nearest store to me is not convenient and I do not frequent the store often enough to have a scene in this dream. My squirrel and I went from aisle to aisle and the little creature kept angling towards the windows and doors. I soon came to the realization that the squirrel wanted to be free. We said our goodbyes, and the next time the automatic door opened, the squirrel scampered out. Goodbye my squirrel!

Then I woke up in laughter, out loud laughter mind you. I realized immediately what the dream meant. That silly dream helped me to realize I needed to release emotions that had become a burden, that source of irritation. I decided it was high time to let those emotions go and in the process, I had a fantastic day. It did help that it was a Friday. Best of all, problem gone! Squirrel aka Monkey found someone else to pester.

I also told myself it was okay that I took the week to process the squirrel/monkey on my shoulder. It was something I just had to work through. I managed to reach the other side of reasoning and the result was inner peace, free of the struggle that was going on inside of me. I like that I had this lesson come my way, and with the help of a squirrel for humor.

I kind of miss that squirrel, though. It was so darn cute!

#grielf #monkeyonmyback #lifelesson