The Fool's Journey

    

    There is so much in this world I do not understand. So much that I have to accept I will never understand. There is only so much time to learn and experience, just in regards to what mankind has to teach, that I cannot possibly take it all in. And then there is the infinite amount of things no human has yet discovered or experienced that will forever be a mystery.

    And so it is critically important to make peace with that. I can accept it so that it is not a stumbling block to growth, or not and live in some kind of delusional fantasy. The fantasy is very appealing, what an amazing ego boost it must be to dismiss experts because I know better. To believe all news I disagree with is just propaganda. To always 'know' I am in the right. I can see why so much of social media is filled with people who embrace the fantasy.

    I am sadly, however, attempting to make peace with my lack. Embrace it even, as a fundamental part of the human condition. It is a work in progress, I am a work in progress, and however grueling or deflating the work can be at times, it is also utterly fascinating. As it turns out, it is a point of view of infinite awe, of endless wonderment. It is liberating. Always having to know and be correct is an impossible burden to place on oneself. It is crippling to ever view yourself as stupid for not knowing, so letting go of the responsibility of always knowing is very healing. It is not stupid not to know something, it is very very human. 

    Ignorance is not lack of knowledge, it is the assumption of knowledge, and the resulting inability to accept knowledge from those with direct experience. I can assume what it is like to be a woman, or to be an Arab in the US, or to be physically disabled, but I cannot know those things from experience. But in embracing how inexperienced that I am when it comes to those things, I remain open to the point of views of people with experiences I can't have. So there is no pressure on me to just somehow magically know, only to appreciate those that do. To value and validate their experiences, so I can be enriched by important lessons learned through lives I can't live.

    The world becomes a magical place when you accept you are a Fool. Everyone becomes a potential Magician with wisdom you cannot have without their help. Everyone a High Priestess capable of showing you another hidden aspect of divine humanity. Everyone an Empress and Emperor able to bestow priceless gifts to help you on your journey. Repeatedly tearing yourself down in order to rebuild becomes a labor of love, not a thing to dread.

    There is no shame in being a Fool unless you are a fool who stays home, locked in the tower of your mind, confident that what is behind the walls is enough. Sooner or later the tower will fall. The vastness of the unknown is too great and powerful not to knock it down simply by passing through. But on the Fool's Journey, everything is in transition. Accepted and established ideas are momentary places of rest, nothing to morn when destroyed. It is nothing to let go of even the deepest held beliefs when experience proves something else.

    The unknown is full of potential. You are the first you to explore it. You are the first you to explore yourself. You are the only you that can experience the universe from your perspective, and that is an immensely valuable jewel that only you can find ways to express and share with others. You are an unknown that is full of potential. Every Fool has the capacity to be another person's Magician, or gift them with your unique perspective on existence.