Holy Foolish?

It takes a certain level of denseness, even stupidity, to be confident, relaxed, assured.

Those of us who are much more alert, cynical -- and yes, cautious, wary, careful -- we might sneer. And yet we envy such people their seeming ease of bearing and the facility with which they carry themselves through life.

Often, it is their innocence and naivete that gives then this peculiar advantage.

A lack of vision. Maybe, a lack of experience.

Because the moment you really stop and think, the moment you really break your living stride to take a close look around you with an intense, alert scrutiny, you come to realize that everything is dangerous. The next step you take, the next breath you inhale -- all can derail you, and everything is a potential cause of harm.

It is a miracle indeed that anything persists -- that we survive, that we can continue to live day to day.

Maybe being selectively blind is not such a bad thing. Enough with the details already -- look at the big picture, the great unified gestalt of the moving universe, the rhythm… Close your eyes partway and observe through narrow slits the changed, hazy world.

Pretty!

And suddenly it becomes an easy thing to walk the razor edge of a cliff many kilometers high.

There's a good reason some of us may be considered holy fools.

And there's a good reason that, when going to the beach, it pays to wear sunglasses.