The Fool in the Heart: Emotional Blocks to Raising Money, Part VI

The Fool is the unusual sheep in the family.  If we see the Innocent as an inner child, the Victim an inner teenager who has developed what I called a “crusty old story” about never having enough, these often mature within us into either a Tyrant whose behavior we think of all too often as normal and health around money, or a full-blown deeply angry, long-suffering controlling adult I compared to a “kinder, gentler” Tyrant–the Martyr.  The Fool has been through the same childhood and adolescence, but her/his way of dealing with it as an adult is not to care.  This attitude–that money is just not important, and can and should be wasted– is similar to the Creator/Artist’s inner split over money (hating and it and needing it) but lacks that archetype’s spiritual impulse and focus.The Fool is not about focus.  The Fool is about living on the edge.  The Fool is about risk.  Money is inherently risky business, whether we are buying, selling, raising, spending, or investing it.  So to me, it’s important to acknowledge the truth of the Fool’s love of gambling: “it’s only money.”   To rebuild after a Fool has taken over, we start in the heart.  What the Fool really recognizes, I believe, is love.  Love is the only thing about which we cannot say, “it’s only _____.”  The Fool may enjoy pretending s/he doesn’t care about anything, but find out what s/he loves and build from there.  If you are your own Fool, welcome home!  Make a home in your heart for what you love.  Let it focus you; the first task of the Fool is to find something worth focusing on.  This is often what heals folks from addiction–their love, of their children, their pets, even their job.  Underneath, the Fool is a spiritual seeker who lacks the discipline of the Creator/Artist because s/he does not really trust the Universe loves her/him back. There is a strong, deep sense of worthlessness within the Fool keeping him/her at risk all the time.  No other animal deigns to live at risk if it can help it.  No human animal deserves to.