Up: [[0 - Fool]] Related: [[Why is it so Difficult to be a Fool?]] Created: 2024-03-03 Updated: 2026-06-14 I envy the Tarot Fool. Even those images where the Fool is stepping off the cliff into the waiting jaws of a crocodile. Imagine what it would be like to *not* spend every minute of every day planning, anticipating, remembering; being everywhere and every time except right here, right now. What freedom I would feel if I could only remember that a creative life is akin to traversing a deep river by leaping from one stone to the next as its edge appears in the swirling water. Tama Kieves, in sharing this analogy, said that the edge of the stone might be a movie I feel called to see, a book I’m meant to read, an experience I need to have. But those leaps demand much more than just remembering to make them. I’ve asked myself, [[Why is it so Difficult to be a Fool?]] In part, it is because each leap is an act of trust. Trust in the universe that I am being directed to something more meaningful than my carefully developed plans. And trust in myself that I can let go of my plans and still be logical, organized Virgoan me. Am I fighting my natural self if I embrace the playful, open-hearted spontaneity of the Fool? I don’t think so. I think these are the qualities of the child and the child is simply buried, to different depths, in the adult. Most of us have to re-find the energy of the child, of the Fool, at midlife and beyond. I’m convinced it is an effort worth making, a journey worth taking. The Fool’s desire is [[Individuation]] — embracing my authentic Self, discovered as a result of my willingness to leap into unknowing and the unknown, into mystery. And along the way, to learn how to live with a sense of humour and play, trusting myself, loving myself, and paying far less attention to how I am perceived by others.