Nov 04, 2010 16:30
The silly goose is wild.
The chase for meaning through whimsy is the most important one of all. There is no name for this pursuit. It should be up there with science, art and religion. The laugh track to enlightenment, the tension breaker, the communal language surpasser that brings us all together is the only reason to be here. Or at least the most valuable one. The chase for the silly goose is what gives validity to our lives and by that I mean it makes it enjoyable. And by that I mean it makes it tolerable.
Anyone can build. Anyone can destroy. The seeming pointlessness of laughter and the ability to generate laughter in others masks a much deeper and necessary wave of the best humanity has to offer. It’s more than just a break from the monotonous slide show of life. It’s more than a way to escape the worries of your bills, deadlines, mortality or love life. It’s a way to tap into the reasons for existence. It’s the hard left that can bring genius to research and get love going again.
Every court needs a jester. Raven, Loki, Puck, Eris, Prometheus, Coyote, Hermes, Mercurius, Eshu, Anansi, Monkey, Leprechaun, Set, Renard the Fox, Kokopelli, Tanuki, Iktomi, Bugs Bunny, Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, Pippi Longstocking, the Joker, and again and again and again.
The clown that plays the subservient in order to entertain is stooping to conquer. It’s an act. The jester was the only person that was allowed to make fun of the king without fear of execution. Such is the power of the harlequin. It isn’t saying ‘fuck it’ with no knowledge of how terrible the consequences might be. It’s diving in knowing the stakes while completely disregarding them.
It’s dependent on wit without armour and tactics without brute strength. It’s beyond a survival or defense mechanism. It’s a mastery mechanism. As one laughs, one lowers one’s shield.
It’s not rooted in innocence thought it may seem like it. Its beauty does not lie in its innocence though it may seem like it.
The people that seem to take nothing seriously are the ones that see how serious the world is.
In case you haven’t heard it, there is a joke about a psychiatrist treating an exceptionally sad patient. The psychiatrist has tried everything but cannot get through to this patient. In a stroke of brilliance, he says “Hey! The great clown Pagliacchi is in town this month. You should go see him. He will cheer you up. He cheers everyone up.”
The patient says “But doctor, I AM Pagliacchi.”
The tears of a clown. The chase for meaning through whimsy can be profane and sacred at the same time unlike anything else. It’s the only church that’s necessary. It is the great equalizer. It exposes leaders as common people and the common people as universal. It breaks rules and gets applause. Comedy is given less credit and that’s just fine. The only way to keep its power secret is to exist under society like a carpet.
Then someone can pull that carpet out from under all of us.
So chase the goose. It is wild so that you can be. It is silly so that you can be.
The chase for meaning through whimsy is the most important one of all.
tags
30,
humour,
trickster,
comedy