Embrace Your Inner Fool

I used to feel like a fool all the time. Practically everything I'd say or do, I'd cringe afterwards and berate myself for being so foolish. In retrospect, probably 80% of what I said and did was fine, and the other 20% was just ordinary doofy misfires that people sometimes make. Being foolish for a moment doesn't bother me at all today. But back then, I felt cringey about myself all the time.

Today at 60 I have embraced my inner fool. Eased up on myself. Stopped holding myself under a microscope every second of every day.

What helped? Lots of things - good relationships, career success, maturity.

But it has also been very helpful to learn about The Fool as an archetype. In the Tarot deck, The Fool is usually depicted as a young person about to step off a cliff, oblivious to danger. They carry something, often a bundle on a stick. Often a small dog warns them. But they step forward anyway.

Without knowing what is to come.

Without knowing if the step will be right or wrong, awkward or graceful, smart or stupid.

Just doing it.

Taking a risk.

The dog, to me, represents the fear of not doing it “right.” The need for approval. The ego. The Fool leaves ego behind and steps off into the great blue yonder.

There's a lot of healing power in The Fool for me, and for anyone as hard on themself as I once was.

Embracing your inner Fool, taking the risk of showing yourself in all your awkwardness, is incredibly liberating. Every time you do it, it helps you develop self-love.

My best embracings of my own inner fool have happened while dancing. Because dance involves the body, dancing can feel vulnerable, like people are watching and judging you. When you defy that fear, when you let go of trying to be “good” and go for “free” instead, you release more of your uniqueness into the world. The world needs it and you need it.

Embracing your inner Fool is a form of self-love. It is good for your mental health. It lightens you up and calms you down.

Experience this with me in a special online NIA dance class focused on embracing our inner Fool. We'll get a great whole-body workout and develop self-love at the same time. Saturday April 1 - April Fool’s Day of course! 9-10am L.A. time. ON ZOOM.