When have you felt foolish, embarrassed, or humiliated? Recall the circumstances of those situations. What if these things had happened to someone you love instead of yourself? Would they seem as emotionally loaded and devastating as they were when they happened to you?

The King’s Fool

Imagine you lived at a time when there were kings, and you assumed the role of the king’s fool. What is the role of a professional fool? What is the emotional significance of foolish, outrageous, and silly behaviors when they are done consciously?

Do we have to assume that the fool has a negative status? Must the fool be stupid, ignorant, or lacking in intelligence? Is it possible to see the fool as entertainer, as therapist, as possessing properties of kindness, generosity, and wisdom? Is it possible to see the fool as creative, funny, fun, and spontaneous? Can the fool be mature, intelligent, even enlightened? Can the fool be a kind of sorcerer or magician? Can the fool be in humble service to the good? Can the fool be a healer? Can the fool be a most trusted advisor?

Would allowing the fool within you to manifest some or all of these positive qualities improve your life? What are some ways you can allow yourself to lighten up, to act a bit foolish, to stop taking yourself so seriously, and to let go of control?

Try deliberately doing one foolish thing per week for the next four weeks. If you like how those experiments have changed your life, try acting foolishly once per day.