One of my favorite things about children is their openness and willingness to explore.

During the Brewery Artwalk which just occurred a couple of weeks ago, children came into my place, immediately found the paper and crayons I had put out for them, and without fear began to express themselves. And not just express but process what they had been encountering. Often I saw aspects of my neighbors’ art or art in my house in the children’s drawings. Their way of dealing with all the impressions is to get it out of their system through expression. And without fear.

Their minds are open and willing to be filled. They actually crave information and input.

The Crystallized Self

This seems to change as the years go on and school becomes more intense. Having to cram in all kinds of information into their neurology that is often not really that interesting to them, and which is ultimately geared to turn them into good little worker bees and consumers, defense mechanisms start setting in that separate personal from impersonal knowledge – and that begin to close down the mind.

With growing development of an identity, curiosity dies. Only information that is relevant to daily activities or entertaining will now make it past the filters. And worse, with a growing idea of identity come new defense mechanisms, which will actively avoid or deny new information that might be contrary to held beliefs.

This explains why people – even in the face of scientific probabilities – still hold on to beliefs and ideas that they might have encountered years ago in Sunday school. They have become part of their identity, their source for stability, and are therefore “untouchable”.

The cup overfloweth

In Buddhism, there is a concept called beginner’s mind. There is a beautiful story that illustrates this:
The student and teacher are having tea. The teacher fills the student’s cup and continues to do so as the student watches the tea overspill on the floor in horror. Upon inquiring the teacher says to the student: “You are like the cup. You are full already. I cannot teach you. For me to teach you, you have to empty the cup first.”

In order to be present for new opportunities and ideas and possibilities of self, we have to be willing to give up our established notions of self. This is not an easy task. Your established personae will do their best to keep their status.

Are you willing to risk who you are for who you could become?

Sometimes, in order to become somebody new, we literally have to kill off aspects of our selves. It can be a treacherous journey, full of demons waiting to be slain – or waiting to devour you. It is an ego death that warrants all the stages of grief as described by Elizabeth Kuebler-Ross’s famous model. And we have to allow those stages and make space for them. At least, until we get to a zero state again, a neuroplasticity of identity.

The Fool

In the Tarot, this idea is represented by the fool. This card is the symbol of true innocence, a perfect state of joy and freedom, the sure feeling of being connected to life as a whole.

Out of all the trump cards, the Fool is the first one and has the number 0. A number with no beginning or end. This indicates someone ready to go in any direction, and be open to all possibilities. He belongs nowhere specific, has no past, but an infinite future. Every moment is a new beginning.

The Fool is change, motion and the readiness to jump into life, without any cares. For the Fool there is no difference between possibility and reality, the zero means a total lack of both hope and fear, the Fool suspects and plans nothing. He responds directly to the current situation, lives fully and authentically in the present.

Living la vida loca

How practical is it to be the Fool in our society? For the most part, we are, of course, discouraged from such foolishness. We are supposed to know who we are, what’s going on and what we are doing at all times. Not knowing oftentimes comes with a sense of embarrassment, shame and even guilt.

That is the key, though. We might not always be a Fool and completely open, but what is important is that when we don’t know, when we find ourselves invited to be the Fool, we are okay and take respite in that instead of experiencing any form of anxiety.

Especially in our current times, even our leaders seem to not know what is going on… and how could they. Technology, economy and our society as a whole have become so complex, that no individual can actually still understand all that is happening.

And it is time for us to accept that we don’t know. I harped on that before in the essay on facts. So let’s embrace it and be fools, beginners, like children.

Even Jesus said it: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”