April Fools' Day

I hate April Fools Day and practical jokes. I am afraid of them.

"A practical joke or prank is a stunt or trick to purposely make someone feel foolish or victimized, usually for humor."

Yeah... laughing AT people. Abusing people for laughs. What kind of people laugh at victims?
Needing to run to a telephone when there's no-one there, needing to run arrends that are not needed, needing to run in search of non-existant things, that's waste of time, that will make you only hot and angry and sad. Who laughs at that?
Getting your clothes dirty, getting your food destroyed, your property destroyed - that's not funny either.
Being lied to, cheated, tricked into doing things you don't want to do, that's disrespectful, dishonest, despicable.

Trickster God might be allowed to do things like that, but Trickster God do things like that to teach you something about yourself, to teach you to loosen up, not to take things so seriously, and Trickster God actually keep it private... it is YOUR lesson. The purpose is not to humiliate you and make you the joke of the day and the prankster the "hero" of the day - which is the exact purpose of practical jokes. You see, it's nothing but a form of bullying, an especially vicious form - you see, if you protest, you "don't have a sense of humor"... Don't believe me? Usually the one pranking gets really angry when people make him the butt of the joke. You see, the practical jokes are the joker's way of telling you and everyone that HE is really smart and YOU are not. He is the one who makes everyone laugh, you are the one everyone laughs at.

(Yes, I am aware that these bullies will try to justify their abuse by saying that they too are just trying to teach you to not to take things too seriously, but the difference is that human beings are not Gods nor therapeuts, and cannot know enough to decide whether you really need to loosen up and if that is the way to do it. 99% of the time it is NOT the way to do it, on the contrary, "harmless" jokes like this make things worse and can drive a person to harm someone. Just look at Carrie.)

I like the tarot card "Fool" though and I believe this Fool has a lot to teach to people. To let go. To do things backwards, upside down, inside out. I think we should turn the April Fools' Day from trying to make fools of other into trying to make fools of ourselves.

The difference that makes all the difference is whether you choose or not. Your free will must be respected, you have to be the Fool of your own choice. If you are made a fool by other people, you probably won't learn anything worth learning, but if you make a fool of yourself, you will learn valuable things.

Wear your clothes upside down, inside out, pants on your head, mittens on your feet, socks on your ears. Borrow each others' clothes, crossdress, wear too small or too big clothes. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes. Wear clothes you have always wanted to wear but never dared. Have a day of dressing dangerously.

Eat backwards too. Eat cake to breakfast, eat the dessert first and main course then, eat "baby food", comfort food, play with the food. Make food that looks like something else. Make blue food. Eat food you have never eaten before. Eat under the table. Have a picknick on the living room floor. Eat with chopsticks or with fingers or with using only a fork.

Do exactly the opposite than what you are used to do. If you always take the left side of the street to work, take now the right side. Walk through the park in stead of taking the buss. Go to the park to feed ducks and squirrels on your lunch hour, if you don't usually do that.

Even in thinking, have an "opposition" day. When you think "I'm ugly, stupid, worthless", tell yourself: "No, I'm beautiful! I am smart! I am valuable!" When you think "I can't afford that" tell yourself "No, that is not true, I CAN afford that and I AM worth that!" When you think "I would like to go, but I don't dare... it's dangerous, it's silly, it's ridiculous", tell yourself "I want to go, so I go. I dare, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's fun!"

Do all the things you haven't dared to do because you are afraid someone might laugh at you, someone might think you are ridiculous, someone might think you are stupid. You are the Fool today, you are FUNNY, not ridiculous or stupid. People are supposed to laugh at you, you MAKE them laugh. You will inspire them to laugh and to dare.

You could also send jokes to everyone you know. If you don't know their email address, you can send a postcard. Don't send a postcard with something "funny" in it, like springs, snaps and itching powder, but with someting funny in it, like jokes or a funny picture.

You know you can't be afraid when you laugh, don't you?
Do you also know that the measurement of your freedom is if you are afraid when you laugh, or if you laugh when you are afraid?

- Shrine of the Sacred Fool at Gaia Community :-)
- The Spirituality and Politics of Holy Folly
- Holy Fools
- Shusaku Endo: Wonderful Fool