The April Fool

The Fool in all his haphazard brilliance
from "OSHO Zen Tarot"© by
Deva Padma

There's a line in Tracy Chapman's song, "Fast Cars" that says, "Starting from zero got nothing to lose."  That pretty well sums it up for our hero of the tarot, The Fool.  The sun is at his back, the sky is clear, he has everything he possesses in a bundle and good Lord, he's about to walk straight off a cliff!

Before we get too concerned about his dire predicament, let's remember that Fool is divinely protected.  Most of you will agree with me on this - at least you will if you drive freeways.  Our friend Fool represents new beginnings, innocence, openness and limitless potential.  Fool simply puts one foot in front of the other on his journey.  He hasn't figured out that he might come to harm or might not succeed.  Those concepts, or rather lessons are much farther down the road.  Right now it's enough to be out in the glorious sunshine where anything could happen.

I like thinking the innocence of The Fool protects all of us when we begin a new endeavor.  Otherwise Hannibal was just some insane freakazoid shoving elephants over the Alps for fun rather than a brilliant military tactician.  Though personally, in his case, I favor the freakazoid theory.  Still, when we undertake a daring or difficult act, isn't it nice not knowing that failure should be a certainty?  How many acts of genius were originally thought to be the workings of madmen or madwomen?

Six years ago, on April 1st, my husband and I committed a

Ciro Marchetti gives us a more cosmic
Fool whose experiences are no longer confined
to the cliff. There's a universe of possibility here.
From "Legacy of the Divine Tarot"©

 reckless and foolish act, or so many believed.   We bought a 40 foot sailboat sight unseen on Ebay for $2000.00.  We had the option of inspecting it before handing over the money and although we had coached ourselves on keeping emotion and excitement to acceptable levels during the inspection, we fell hopelessly and hideously in love with The Enchantress.  That's right, we walked right off that cliff.  We are still hopelessly in love with her.  Rebuilding her became a magnificent obsession - though not always a wise one.   Had we been able to fully understand the nature and depth of the commitment we were making that April Fool's Day we would never have clicked the Bid button.  And I firmly believe we would have been all the poorer for lack of the experience. (Read more about our boat project in blog: "Case for Divine Justice)

We're about a year from completion.  Yes, there were a lot of missed vacations and parties, new high-tech widgets that we couldn't afford, but she's ours - every plank we sanded, nail we hammered.  So, I thank the lesson of The Fool.  He isn't bound by popular convention or actuarial tables.  He goes with his gut and more often than not still comes up smelling the rose.

Lady Oracle




ladyoracle56@yahoo.com


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