The Holy Fool – Healing the Fear of Making a Fool of Your Self!

September 2nd, 2010

A little madness prevents the big madness!

Sitting with my family in a cafe in Key West, Florida on one of those hot, humid days, the air conditioning went off and everybody started grumbling and complaining. A couple of kids at the next table began throwing lumps of bread at each other. Their exasperated parents tried their best to calm them down, but to no avail. A moment later an old lady got out of her chair, and stumbled into the waitress who’s tray of food went flying in the air and crashing to the floor. As the owner of the cafe was about to have a heart attack, out of nowhere a little old man stood up and burst out with “Cock a Doodle DOO!!!”

As quickly as he stood up, he sat down, and continued eating his lunch and reading his newspaper as if nothing had happened. Needless to say, our jaws hung open and we were stunned into silence. Suddenly all hell broke loose in that sweaty little restaurant. Excited talking, uproarious laughter, and joyous smiles filled the room. The kids next to us started drumming spoons on glasses and their parents joined them! It was by far the most amazing shift in mood I had ever witnessed.

So often in my life I have been afflicted with the belief that I was inferior or inadequate in some way, shape or form. Falling short of my own personal standards of perfection would leave me depressed and agitated. When studying universal archetypes I learned that the Holy Fool represents the Chaotic Wind of creation that scatters rational meaning in all directions. I began to realize that my fear of making foolish mistakes so often prevented me to unleash the enormous creative abilities hidden inside my soul. Suddenly the little man in the restaurant appeared before me shouting, “Cock a Doodle Doo!!!” It finally dawned on me that in spite of everything we’ve been taught there is nothing more insane than being sane all the time! Identifying with the Holy Fool continues to help me heal my habit of self-belittlement and strengthen trust in my instinctive impulses – the storehouse of new and different ways of being. So in moments of chaotic confusion, my advice is to shake your body to high heaven while shouting in no uncertain terms, “Cock a Doodle Doo!!!” and witness how quickly sanity returns.

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