Foolishness flavours friendship and intimacy

In the post, "Simple Mind Zen: In Praise of Folly, the Holy Fool", a follower of Charlotte Joko Beck, Diane Rizzetto and Ezra Bayda, describes the value of foolishness in soul: "As modern thinkers, we may present to the world a well developed intellect, a sense of proportion, but the soul is more fertile in its own imagination, in its own earth, finding value in sometimes irrationality. Perhaps this is in part why great artists and inventive minds seem a bit eccentric or mad to the average onlooker."

After opening the post with a Thomas Moore quote, the blogger states, "The light of Oneness not withstanding, there is great temptation to separate, to judge, to make comparisons of these oddities of soul. Yet this mutual vulnerability is one of the great gifts of love. To give another sufficient space in which to live and express one's soul in its reason and unreason, and then to further risk revelations of your self, in all its potential absurdities. The courage required for this oneness is not easy; it is infinitely more demanding than either judgment or comparisons. While most of us contain ourselves fairly well, the soul and its ways eventually surface bringing forth the unexpressed that we sense stirring inside."

The writer concludes, "Tolerance, 'honoring that aspect of the self that may be irrational or extreme is the basis for intimacy,' writes Thomas Moore. We have fewer expectations of perfection, less judgement; less and less are we separated by these notions. We come to recognize that the soul, in its meanderings, tends to move into new and positive areas in spite of, and because of the oddities expressed."