The Metaphor of the Monkey in the Cage

9 min readOct 4, 2024

A Creative Journey into the Dual Nature of Psychological Imprisonment.

Allow me to focus on two specific human traits to explore the wonderful metaphor of the Monkey in the Cage. The dualistic nature of existence is the most curious aspect of how our minds function. Nothing is beautiful without its opposite: ugly, and the flying angel is always aware of the laughing devil above the other shoulder.

Let me first declare that every human being is powerful and impressively creative. Do they realize that? It depends on the person.

Background Story

When I was a child, I thought everyone was acting. I saw life as an ongoing performance, where everyone is an actor in their world. Whatever the topics or activities, I was certain people were having a wonderful time putting on an act i.e., a teacher standing in front of a class might be explaining math or talking about geography. To me, they were wonderful actors delivering a monologue with dramatic pauses and gestures. The students were the silent background characters in the play, pretending to listen intently.

I also was certain that people knew that they were acting. At any given moment of the day, and whatever they did or said, my mom, my dad, their friends when they came over for dinner, my teachers, cops on the street, etc., I thought were performing magnificently for their audience or person in front of them. I imagined that they were also performing for themselves when they were alone. Even in their privacy, they were continuing their one-man show, perhaps for an invisible audience or themselves as the sole spectator. It was entertaining and I would often applaud inwardly as a gesture of recognition for their talent.

“I did that once after my uncle, a theater director, gave what I thought was a performance, explaining to the cast of actors sitting in a circle what he was expecting from them and what the play was about. It was Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. When he ended I started clapping fearlessly, exclaiming bravo repeatedly. Until that moment, I had never seen my uncle so mad and determined to let me know my support for his performance did not please him at all. I was five years old.”

I realized much later that not only was I wrong about people acting, but that in fact, they were very serious and committed to performing these “acts” as if it was really them. I had been so convinced everyone knew they were acting—and having a ton of fun doing it. I remember always hoping for a wink in the middle of a performance, a sign to reassure me that they knew that I knew — they were just enjoying the make-believe for credibility’s sake. After all, who wants a good magician to show you the illusion of how they trick your perception before they do it?

I remember only two high school teachers who winked here and there, relieving the pressure that it was all so serious. I thought the rest of them had taken ill with Seriosis, a nasty disease affecting too many people. It began to dawn on me that people were unfortunate prisoners of their roles and their thoughts with no awareness or trick to get them out.

Eventually, I had to find a community where everyone knew they were acting. So, I became a professional actor early in my life. What a wonderful relief!

Anatomy of the Monkey in the Cage

I never gave up on the notion that everyone is acting or putting on an act with awareness. For me, the world is still a “stage”. For centuries, we have been inventing roles to give meaning to our lives and survive with dignity, vitality, and strength. It takes courage, vision, and creativity.

The moment they are born, human beings learn to act and make up their world as they see fit. We learn by imitating what and who is around us. There are great actors, many bad ones, and most mortals are barely passable, with a few rare moments of genius, if they’re lucky.

The reality is not whether the acting is good or not but rather if we are aware that it is just an act. YOU are the actor, not the character. When the act owns you, it would be very similar to an actor who is so immersed in his role that he forgets he was hired to play a part—what a nightmare! You become the character for the time of the show, then you exit the stage you were on.

The World’s a Stage

From what I have witnessed, all the roles we enact are predicated on the nature of the thoughts and perspectives we cultivate about ourselves, the world, and the people in it. We make choices based on our conditioning, social class, education, etc. Politics, religion, and morals are great influencers in choosing the roles we play, the thoughts or doctrines we believe in, and the “acts” we perform. Obligations, duty, no choice, tradition, rules, laws, devotion, etc., are all qualities and names we give our performances. Often what is missing is the awareness that no matter what the circumstances dictate, we are forced to put on a show. We call it “life”.

Aside from the acting profession, I call these performing acts “The Monkey in the Cage”. I came to profoundly realize that we all live in mental cages. Nobody is to blame and it isn’t my point. It takes enormous amounts of energy and creativity to fulfill these roles and play the many parts we are called to put on— every day and with all the makeup, costumes, and accouterments necessary.

Thoughts, stories, and especially opinions are other good examples of these creative prisons of our own making. They are first creative because they are all made up. Naturally, we have seen other monkeys in our lives perform: parents, siblings, teachers, friends, partners, bosses, lovers, etc., so we began mimicking what everyone else seemed to be engaged in.

Here Comes the Rub

The monkeys must perform the design of their thoughts. For instance, if you think of yourself as an intelligent person, you must perform intelligence — and be good at it at all times! The same goes for being a CEO, a janitor, a student, a paramedic, a mother, etc.

There are so many metaphorical yet unconscious archetypes people embody: the underdog, the organizer, the witness, the entrepreneur, the winner, the spiritual, the people-pleaser, the professional, the amateur, the fanatic, the douchebag, the fragile, the coach, the empath, the supporter, the candidate, the doormat, the thief, the deceitful, the righteous, the smart ass, the president, the manager, the chief executive, the secretary, the master, the CEO, the senior, the junior, the inexperienced, the captain, the principal, the child, the victim, the dutiful, etc. Some are real job functions, while others are subconscious archetypes and impersonations based on aspirations or repressed emotions.

At the speed at which the world travels today, it has become almost impossible to remember that we are all actors. We collectively forgot that the very nature of these mental-emotional cages is that they are completely made up, adopted, or copied. It is for example fascinating to ponder that the majority of skilled jobs have not existed for very long. Looking back, the range of professions was quite limited. For most of human history, people were primarily engaged in agriculture, hunting, and basic crafts like blacksmithing, carpentry, or weaving. Specialization was minimal. The Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries began to diversify professions significantly, as technological advancements created new industries and roles.

It’s always strange to see that we invented our world and all the activities within it. You can call yourself a teacher or a husband or a nice person, but it doesn’t carry any inherent truth other than the behaviors and acts you perform — including the language and attitudes you use. It’s all made up. Hence why I see the power and creativity in it. However, it’s not real, just an act. Hence, my insistence on seeing “behind the veil” so to speak. We have become absorbed in the roles we play and the things we do to the point where we believe it’s always been that way.

By staying connected to the creative aspects of our performances with awareness, we can stop being monkeys in cages and take charge of our performances by picking great ones, finding better ones, or quitting the ones that don’t suit us anymore. Don’t let the act do you or own you. Instead, just like a professional actor does: play the part, bow if you want to, collect your money, and then go back to the safety of your being — free of the cage.

Here are some more monkey acts we perform with or without our knowledge: the good guy, the nice girl, the detached, the naïve, the innocent, the charmer, the saint, the great dad, the conniver, the unlucky, the instigator, the stranger, the covert, the perfectionist, the traitor, the friendly, the boss, the shit-disturber, the holier than thou, etc. All these can become imposters in our lives because if you believe they are true, you must become a monkey on display in its cage.

Beyond Monkey Business

It was not until much later in my life that I intuitively recognized that thoughts and emotions are indeed potential mental-emotional cages. It is important to note that the monkey always comes with the cage and that it must be performed.

Furthermore, it has no choice but to perform. The physical body is then forced to go along. That’s the design and the purpose of every cage. You become a potential monkey in the cage the moment you come up with a plan, a direction, a determination, an idea, an activity, a judgment, a commitment, a hope or a desire, etc. It’s unavoidable if you are not aware of the Monkey Cage metaphor.

A pertinent metaphor would be the actor performing a character on a stage. The monkey is the character, not the actor. When the show ends, the actor bows, not the character. Then the actor is free.

The takeaway of this article is that there are characters we never left behind. There are stories and beliefs with all types of emotions attached to them that we still perform daily. We never had a chance to bow, appreciate the applause, and exit the stage—in some cases for good. We carry around so many outdated character traits, and old roles that no longer serve any purpose.

The dualistic nature of the Monkey in the Cage is that we can either go from cage to cage, in which case there is no way out, or we can escape “cageness” itself. Simply by realizing we no longer need to give up our well-being, the things we truly love, and an intimate relationship with ourselves to traffic in stories. Stories that no longer give us energy but instead make us feel depleted. Worry, anxiety, doubt, and perceived failures are all made-up mental-emotional cages that we have not transcended.

If executed without awareness, the following are all potential psychological prisons that once adopted, must be performed inside a cage by a very tired monkey: interpretations, complaints, certainties, hearsays, explanations, renditions, evaluations, opinions, considerations, gossip, beliefs, ratings, assessments, measurements, estimations, protests, claims, reports, narrations, news and scoops, analyses, appraisals, predictions, judgments, projections, guesses, estimations, rumors, fake news, and conspiracy theories.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A New Stage for Business | Transformative Coaching that Uniquely Blends Creative Cognitive Exploration with Professional Growth and Development.

Background

For many years, I have trained and coached people to better understand themselves in relationship to what they do. Merging self-inquiry and keen insights into performance, leadership, and self-development, I encourage individuals to confirm and act from the original foundation of their motivation, behavior, and decision-making patterns.

Because of my long background in the performing arts since the 80s and an enriching dive into behavioral psychology (Behavioral, Cognitive, Humanistic, and Group Therapy) as it relates to personal and professional development, I was inspired to work with countless individuals outside of show business.

Every single human being is creative by design. I profoundly understand that every decision is a new direction, so choices become the pivotal factor that determines the quality of our experiences across the board.

These writings are geared to empower the individual.

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