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Being the trusting individual I am, April Fools Day was never appealing to me- so this year, I'm celebrating today with a whole new perspective and intention, and with the new moon in Aries tonight, it feels like the perfect time to start! (I think that's Aries's favorite word)
Being at peace with being A Fool comes with a heavy price that many might not be able to handle: Self-Acceptance. That kind of power might be unheard of, or downright terrifying! But when we accept the fact that, seriously, no one is born with a manual on life and we're all just Fools stumbling around, it gets a lot easier to Do Things. I've mentioned this before in a previous post, but Perfectionism is this lethal concept and frame of mind that is taking control of our lives and keeping us from exploring our very own gifts and talents. Monica doesn't want to make "bad art", so she doesn't make any art at all- and she'll never know if she has an eye for color theory, a natural knack for gestures, or if she prefers using charcoal over pencils. Jenn wrote stories when she was in grade school, but looking back at how "bad" they were, she no longer writes anything because she now believes she isn't a "good writer" and will likely never indulge in a hobby that allows the scenes in her head to play, alive, on paper. And Tay? Hoo boy howdy, Tay wants to be a voice actor, but "can't do" accents, and now is just convinced that they'll never be a good voice actor.
But also, when I was in high school, I had this weird idea that I couldn't wear blue because my eyes are green?? I'm still confused about that one- that must have been one insidious make up campaign because, what??
I digress.
If we embrace the power of the Fool, we can take a first step on a journey of our dreams, knowing full well that the first step is not only necessary, but will also suck. However, if we don't take that first step, we'll never get to the fifth, or twentieth, or tenth mile when finally- finally!!!- we are actually comfortable with this new skill or knowledge and are able to harness it in ways that will rocket us to our eleventh, twelfth, fiftieth mile of the journey. To hike up a mountain, we have to start at the bottom. To lift 200lbs, we have to master the technique with the bar-
Like, would you ever tell a baby they're not good enough because they're scootin' around, doing that army crawl thing and not running the 400m hurdle event at the Olympics??? (for reference, hurdles are Hard as Hell, and I've been walking and, arguably, regrettably, running for 30 years)
Of course not! That'd make you a total asshole!!
So why in the hell are we doing this to ourselves? What will it take for us to treat ourselves with a ton more grace and kindness- and patience? We've ALL felt the wrath of a terrible teacher, who has punished us for mistakes and have snuffed out any kind of joy or passion for a subject or skill- what's the big idea in using that technique on ourselves? Like, who are we convincing? Oh! This will magically work and I'll get instantly better at something because I'm berating myself, and not someone else!
Or are we punching ourselves in the face before anyone else can?
Because it hurts A Thousand Times Worse when someone else says we're stupid.
But when we call ourselves stupid, it doesn't hurt so bad, huh?
Maybe that's true once. And maybe even twice- or three times. But how long have you been kicking yourself down now? How long have you been telling yourself you're not good enough, even when there's no one else around?
How many times have you quit something before you even started because you already knew you'd fail?
It's April Fools Day, y'all. And today, right now, we are embracing the Fool like never before. We are getting MESSY, we're making MISTAKES, we are asking for HELP because Good God!! This is way harder than I thought!!! We are encouraged by the concept of POSSIBILITIES! We are burning for DEVELOPMENT! We are excited by GROWTH!
And when you feel the fear creeping just beneath the surface, know that it's just a hormonal reaction to what we don't know, and it means you're going somewhere.
Stepping off my soapbox and making a disclaimer: Please make good choices, no court of law will accept "A blog post/Aries season made me do it, Yer Honor" as a valid defense.
Also, you can buy a reading from me over on my >> Etsy shop <<