The Fool's Journey

I may take the fool’s journey, but trust me when I say, I am no fool.

It’s the journey that no one understands. The journey that makes people question your sanity and ask why you are choosing the path you are taking. They will try to come up with reasons and narratives to make it make sense, but what they don’t realize is that the journey isn’t theirs which is why it will never make sense to them. The fool’s journey is a personal pursuit. It is for one to learn about themselves and the world around them through challenges and revelations that come to them as they navigate the path. It’s the road less traveled because not many will choose this journey to self discovery and expanding their level of consciousness. It may be a fools journey, but trust, I ain’t no fool. In order to pursue this journey, one must possess wisdom, while having childlike trust and faith.

Let’s take a look at a few examples that perfectly depict the fool’s journey. There are many examples throughout the Bible that I can mention, but let’s take Abraham for instance. He was called by God to move from his hometown to found a new nation in uncharted territory that was later learned to be named Canaan. At 75 years old Abraham (then Abram) left his hometown of Haran with his wife, his nephew and all of their possessions obeying the commands of God in trusting His repeated promises that Abraham’s seed would inherit this new land that God was leading them to. Another depiction of the fool’s journey is in the book The Alchemist. He was a shepherd boy with a nice flock who was able to travel and see different parts of the world. So much so, that he found the love of his life Fatima. However, at the time that he met Fatima, he was on a quest to fulfill his dream of seeing the pyramids and finding the gold. Most people would have stopped along their journey once they found the love of their life. They would have decided that going to the pyramids to find the gold was only a fantasy and just a dream not worth exploring. The boy even thought so too a few times throughout the story. But The Alchemist, gave him insight in knowing that if you do not complete your mission you will constantly wonder what if and still think about the gold at the pyramids. Even if he was happily married with Fatima there would still be a longing for a dream he chose to defer. He encouraged the boy to still continue on his pursuit and when he returned he could still have a chance with Fatima.

The Fool’s journey is deciding that there is something out there bigger than yourself and being willing to step into the unknown of figuring out what that may be. You don’t settle on the Fool’s journey and think this is as good as it’s going to get. You keep going even when it seems to make no sense. Remember you will receive the revelations as you keep traveling through. One by one, step by step. It will all come together and one day you will appreciate every step it took to get you to your destination. You’ll never forget the journey it took because that’s where your character developed, your ability to endure strengthened, your self-concept has improved and your belief systems have shifted for the better. The journey builds grit, the journey builds you. And when the day comes and you’re standing on the other side of the life you’ve chosen to create for yourself, you will appreciate it in all of its glory. When you get to the other side then they will say, Aha! She knew what she was doing the whole damn time.