Who's in the Zoo?

An unemployed Biologist responded to an ad for a “Gorilla Team Member” that the local zoo posted in a local paper. He called in, provided his credentials, and was asked to come in for an interview. During the interview, the Gorilla Team Leader described the role. “We’ve had a severe drop in attendance at the zoo these past six months. In an effort to try and lure visitors back, we want to have a team member wear a Gorilla suit and exhibit more interesting behaviors, so that word spreads and more visitors come to see this more interesting Gorilla.” The Biologist was a bit aghast. “You want to put a human being in a Gorilla suit in the same space with the other Gorillas?” “Of course not”, said the Team Leader, “You would be in your own, separate enclosure.” 

The Biologist was not too keen on perpetrating such a ruse, but as he had been unemployed for more than 6 months, he decided to give it a try. After a few weeks of training, he finally made his way to center stage: A cage with real Gorillas on one side and Lions on the other. For the first few days, the Biologist was rather meek in his performance. He would feign interest in visitors, offer them bananas, and make funny sounds for small children, but his performance did not impress his manager, and after a few days he was called to a meeting where he was told that he would need to step up his performance or they would need to find another ‘Gorilla’. 

The next day, the Biologist endeavored to provide a more elaborate performance. He did somersaults and handstands. He primitively waved at passersby. He threw objects up in the air and caught them. A large crowd started to gather. Feeling as though he had to take it to the next level, he climbed a tall tree and swung around a high branch like a pole dancer. Unfortunately, the gloves on his Gorilla suite were not conducive to maintaining his grip, so he slipped from the branch and fell flat on his back in the Lion cage. 

The largest male Lion stood up suddenly and roared at this intrusion. The Biologist lost his nerve and screamed out “Help! Help!” The Lion pounced on the Biologist, covered his mouth with his paw, and whispered “Shhh. You fool! Do you want to get us all fired!”. Security rushed in and started clearing the crowd as the ‘Lion’ pinned the unfortunate ‘Gorilla’ to the ground and continued to roar. After the crowd was dispersed and the zoo gates were locked, one of the Gorillas in the other cage shouted: “Nice job. Jackass”. 

As security escorted the defeated Biologist out of the zoo, he passed by a Llama sitting on a rock with a cigarette in one hoof and a smartphone in the other.

For anyone who suffers from imposter syndrome: Underneath our titles and our roles, we all struggle with the same ambiguity and anxiety, and we all wonder how others see us and our vulnerabilities.

Note: I adapted and extended this story from a Tara Brach talk, but she did not quote the original author, so I cannot credit it appropriately. Suffice to say that I wrote the story, but the concept is not mine.