Clown around
Among the Plains Indians, heyoka, or sacred clowns, often purposely behave in strange or counter-intuitive ways, such as living their lives "backward" (riding facing the rear of the horse, drying off before bathing, etc.). They also tell tales of sadness and woe during good times and spin gleeful tales during times of want. This is done to teach the tribe's members not to take life too seriously, to remind them that all ups and downs are transient, and, on a more metaphysical level, to maintain the appropriate mental and spiritual balance of the tribe as a unit in relationship to the spirit world. Heyoka are held in very high esteem and thought to possess very strong medicine (spiritual/magical power) to keep the tribe healthy and safe through these actions. You can integrate this "crazy wisdom" into your goal-reaching process by reminding yourself to invest money when times are good, prepare for unexpected emergencies and by remembering to have fun and go a little nuts in times of need to keep yourself from being sucked into a spiraling depression. Even when times are tight, eating a dinner out or taking in a movie may make the difference between going completely bonkers and having the necessary mental calm and stability to make good choices. A proper balance in life is essential to reaching your goals and to using those achievements wisely - plus, even a little sip of tomfoolery has an impressive feel-good "kick" to it. So pull out that clown nose or those Groucho Marx glasses, slap them on your face and head downtown to see who smiles! |
