The Fool in Tarot depicts a person approaching the edge of a cliff. The Fool is numbered zero- the number of unlimited potential. Somehow in our culture being called a fool or a zero means you are a loser. America seems to like 'winners' and 'losers'. The Fool would seem to suggest there are neither. There is only setting out on the journey- over and over and over again. There is always a new beginning if we are willing to look for it.


'Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling,
they're given wings.'�


Those lines from a Rumi poem kicked off a huge change in my life. Hearing those lines- I realized I had been waiting for the 'right moment' to quit my job. I was scared to leap, standing on the edge of the precipice looking down. The Fool looks skyward. The Fool might say any moment is the 'right' moment to take the first step. The Fool is unconcerned with falling- the Fool is concerned with trusting. Trusting your inner voice and your own knowledge. The Fool calls us to step outside of the familiar. In many myths and legends the Fool was the one with the 'power' because the Fool could make the King laugh. While the King was angry there was a good chance people would starve, die, or be put in exile. When the King laughed an opening appeared, a softening, a possibility of the situation changing.

This April 1rst, I will celebrate the wisdom of the fool and laugh at myself and the arrogance of some of my 'wise' choices which satisfied my ego but left my soul hungry.

(Published in the April 15th issue of Undercurrents. Undercurrents editors asked myself and other local artists and writers to submit a piece for the April Fool's issue)

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