Dear Daughter [attempt #2 – YouTube link failed before – sorry!]

Life is Great because you have something better than a monkey brain, unlike your father. I love this experiment they did with the monkeys in the YouTube video https://youtu.be/meiU6TxysCg (it’s only 2 minutes), but it does describe something primordial in all of us that I think is both envy and not wanting to be cheated; I’d probably know for certain if I had listened to the entire TED talk, but this is all I watched so I could be totally wrong. The lesson here, as I understand it, is that we are often content with our lives until someone else seems to be get something better for free or cheaper or we believe the recipient did not deserve some gift or a bit of fortuitous luck; then we get upset.

I think there is a time to behave like a monkey and times when you need to evolve beyond the monkey brain. Be a monkey when you believe you are being truly cheated; someone is overcharging you for something, you are not getting equal pay for equal work, etc. However, you need to evolve when it’s about envy. Your neighbor or friend got some big promotion and was able to buy a fancy car even though you both went to the same college and got the same degree. Be happy with your cucumber and celebrate your friend’s ability to have received a grape! Embrace being happy for others.

Dad