Jackpudding

In a recent moment of pique regarding the actions of a colleague, I rashly labeled them as a fool. If I had taken half a beat to filter my thoughts before I uttered them, I would have said something different, less emotionally charged. I think when most of us toss around the word fool, we use it as a synonym for idiot. As I found a quiet place to cool down after this incident, I began to think about the term "fool" and its different meanings, and I realized that not all of them have such negative connotations. In this series of posts, I wanted to explore the different senses of the word fool.

Fool #3 - Someone who acts outside of who they normally are due to overwhelming positive emotions; an ardent enthusiast who cannot resist to indulge in enthusiasm.

Normally, I would ascribe such a description to a person who has recently fallen in love, fully and completely overwhelmed by those giddy feelings of attraction. Ahhh, that glorious avalanche of being overcome with passion and energy and anxiousness. In such a condition nothing else in one's life can pull our focus away from that intense longing of being with our beloved. Oh to be labeled as a fool of this sort.

There is a wonderful love story in the Old Testament about such a fool. Jacob was sent by his father Isaac to go out and find a wife from a relative's family. Upon arriving, Jacob met Rachel and fell head over heels in love. Jacob asked Rachel's underhanded father Laban for his daughter's hand in marriage. Laban consented, but with the condition that Jacob work for him for seven years.

"So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days." Genesis 29:20

(Part 3 of 4)