Fool or Foolish?

Me on my precipice! Greece 2009 By KMH

“Chance is the fool‘s name for Fate”
Fred Astaire

The fool can bring to mind lots of images both positive and negative, which begs the distinction between the archetypal fool and being foolish.

“Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.”
William Shakespeare

In coaching as we journey toward the life we want and the fulfillment we deserve there are risks to be taken and leaps of faith to be made.

Weather it be at the moment that you must write (or not write) the check for a new office lease or take (or not take) the job offer in another country, say yes (or no) to a marriage proposal or take (or not take) the opportunity to study with a well known violinist; there are pivotal choices we make that change the direction of our path.

“To the wise, life is a problem; to the fool, a solution”
Marcus Aurelius

The Fool has the characteristics of doing these things not out of abandon or recklessness but from a posture of having followed his/her intuition closely and deep trust. Consider the image of the fool in our culture:

The fool in a deck of cards is the “ jokers wild card” it allows your next move to be outside the normal rules of play – thus allowing you to turn the tide of the game in your favor, or to stymie your opponent.

The fool as in the “jester of the court” of a king was an important person. Though he did function as entertainer and magician he was a stealthy tool for the King in that because of his status and knowledge of the castle he could go anywhere openly and more than likely had intimate knowledge of the workings of the castle and the people in it.  For a king he would be invaluable counsel.

The fool in the Tarot is often a young person seen traveling and seemingly about to take a step off the steep precipice.  He radiates a “crazy wisdom” and glowing and being at ease in the world.  This card is the number 0 in the deck and symbolizes that he can become anything.

QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK:
Are you being foolish in your life anywhere?  Can you see places in your life that could benefit from trusting more?  Where could you use a “wild card” in your life?