Playing the Fool in Life

Nobody can feel better than the man who is completely taken in.

To be intelligent may be a boon, but to be completely trusting,

gullible to the point of idiocy, to surrender without reservation,

is one of the supreme joys of life.

Henry Miller

As a counselor over the years, I have heard countless, heartbreaking stories of my clients who were unwittingly tricked or cheated by someone they totally trusted in their life, or were treated in a way they never expected, in short, being played as a fool. I have struggled over the years to find something consoling to say to them, and until recently had nothing comforting for them except to say that "this too shall pass," which, while true, is not the most consoling tidbit to say the least.

Recently I saw a James Bond movie, "Live and Let Die," for the twenty-third time, and saw a scene that involved a Tarot card deck and the "Fool" card. It hit me that throughout ancient mythology the Fool was a revered character. I also remembered that the Fool is a notable character in every indigenous tradition and every culture that exists. What is it with this iconic role? Why was it so respected as evidenced by its mythic and ubiquitous role throughout history in every existing culture? I wondered, "What if this role is so prevalent, not just because we all experience it sometime in life, but because there is some larger spiritual reason for it's existence? What if the playing the Fool in life was far from foolish and actually a higher calling?

To understand this line of thinking, one only needs to look at the role of the Fool in every story that it appears. It usually involves an unknowing "innocent" (usually being set up over a period of time) who is deceived or duped into having something taken from them. Usually the "innocent" is totally trusting or unsuspecting that this person could do anything bad to them, in essence giving this person the rare gift of total trust. This is where the divinity of the character appears. The Fool gives this person involved the gift of utter trust, and by doing so bestows a sacredness to the relationship. How many people in your life have you known who gave someone total trust? Not many I'm sure. The Fool does this without any reservation. If you have ever received this honor, you may know how such a gift feels inside. It is rare and special.

The "Betrayer", then, is held within a sacred relationship right up to the point that he commits the act of betrayal. It is through this gift of trust that the Fool plays his cosmically divine role: The Fool actually gives the person a chance NOT to commit the act of betrayal and remain in the privileged role of "trusted friend", a high and rare honor in life. If the person does NOT commit the act, knowing full well that he could get away with it, he avoids a weaker urge within himself and therefore grows in character and spirit. He overcomes a weaker impulse that we all experience in life, and flies with his better angels. The Fool, therefore, is the rare archetypal character that allows us, in an instant, this glorious opportunity---a redemption of sorts.

Whether it is a cashier who gives us too much change, or the trusting partner who gives us access to the private bank account, or the relative who signs over to us all financial rights, these are all examples of the Fool acting in total trust and allowing us an opportunity to fight our lesser impulses and rise to a higher standard of purpose in our life. Only the Fool gives us this opportunity in such a definitive way. So by giving back the extra change to the cashier, or NOT acting in an irresponsible or greedy way allows us an immediate character "check" and an opportunity to grow in one's own esteem.

It is interesting to note in one's life, can you remember a time when you had the opportunity to do something you knew was wrong and resisted it? Can you remember the struggle involved in your mind including the rationalizations like: "They won't even notice that much gone", or "I deserve it for all I've done", or "Who will it hurt"? This is the sacred vessel into which the Fool puts us and let's us decide for ourselves in that moment: "Who am I going to be here?"

I don't know how consoling this explanation will be for my clients in the future. One thing is certain though, playing the Fool is not as trivial or foolish as it may initially appear because playing the role of "the tester of Souls" is no small matter. It can only be played by those with the capacity for complete Trust in the first place. How rare and sacred such a person seems to be these days.