April 1 is new years day for us here at The Remarkable Fools Letter. On April 1, we’ll be publishing The Remarkable Fools Journal. The Journal will come out every two months and will feature reader submissions around a theme.
The theme for April 1 is Embarrassing Then, Funny Meow. In up to 500 words share a story about something that happened in high school. We’re exploring something that was really embarrassing then, but in hindsight, you’re not only able to laugh at it, but share it in a funny way
Readers who have their work published will become ‘Members of Letters’ of the Remarkable Fools Society. You’ll receive accolades befitting someone published in the worlds least prestigious, most foolish and hopefully the most playful online journal - though that may be difficult to quantify.
You’ll also be able to download a PDF certificate confirming your membership to the Remarkable Fools Society. Each additional article you have published in The Remarkable Fools Journal will earn you a ‘degree’. So. If you published in 5 different journals, you would be a Member of Letters of the Remarkable Fools Society 5th Degree.
So. Send in your submissions. Up to 500 words. Were? send it to jim At jimdalling dot com
Know anyone else who likes to write foolish things? Get them to sign up to The Foolsletter to play along.
The Remarkable Fools Society: Whats it for?
Recently in the media I’ve watched a lot of people desperate. Desperate to be freed from shame. Desperate to be seen. Desperate to be right, to be certain. Desperate, because the alternative is discomfort. The discomfort of facing and dealing with shame. The discomfort of admitting they are wrong. The discomfort of not knowing.
This is creating a crisis. We need to heal from shame. We need to be able to admit when we’re wrong. These are just the basic building blocks for getting along. For being cordial with each other.
As such, one of the next acts of The Remarkable Fools Society will be to create and publish the Declaration of Imperfection. People who sign on to support this declaration of universal human imperfection, this declaration of humanity will become known as “Registered Idiots” and full members of the Remarkable Fools Society.
‘Registered Idiots’ will be allowed to make a mistake. Many people struggle with doing things poorly, learning, and getting it not quite perfect. This makes it difficult to ship. This makes it difficult to take risks. For years, I was looking for someone to give me permission to fail. No one did. So I didn’t do anything.
By becoming a ‘Registered Idiot’, you don’t need to worry about giving yourself permission to do a bad job. We give you the permission. Once a ‘Registered Idiot’, you have full authority to try new things, make mistakes, feel embarrassed and screw things up a bit. This will be free to do right meow.
One derful thing
We are at a time of increased uncertainty. The paradox is that as things become more uncertain, the more we want certainty, clarity and to have our answers tied up in neat packages. Here at the Remarkable Fools Society, we’re looking for ways to embrace uncertainty in playful ways. One Derful Things are ways to have fun having a joke behind your eyes and have a new relationship with the physical manifestations of resistance to novelty and change as they appear in our bodies.
The Battle Of Hastings of 1067
This one is really a non sequitur. Find as many times as possible to say:
That wouldn’t have flown in the Battle of Hastings of 1067.
Hopefully you can say this to someone who knows that the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066. If someone corrects you, what happens? Experiment with different ways of responding. Take the correction. Deflect. Persist, and find an excuse to be right - ie: They went back the next year. For a sequel. It wasn’t very good. Bit of a cult following sort of thing.
Post about your experience below. I’ll send a postcard to person with the most remarkably foolish story.
Jim, deep appreciation for this foolish venture! I would like to strive to become a 'member of letters' of the Remarkable Fools Society- I'm sure I could dig up something from my high school past (distant as it is) that is both worthy of sharing and is solidly embarrassing (so much to choose from). I would be very pleased to 'receive accolades befitting someone published in the world's least prestigious, most foolish, and hopefully the most playful online journal' - although it will clearly require some truly foolish writing on my part. The opportunity you present to scale the ladder further - to a degree, is so tantalizing.
Your project 'to create and publish the Declaration of Imperfection.' is awesomely commendable. I'd like also to volunteer to help with that - If I might be so bold. I'd like to propose that the declaration be penned by hand - that way, imperfection will be baked right into the very fabric of the document itself! I do possess a remarkably imperfect writing hand if that could be of service - and if it can help make my own case for becoming a registered idiot, so much the better. Idiocy has long been a hobby of mine, and I have been practicing as an amateur idiot for some time now, primarily in the big decisions regarding my life - the opportunity you offer, to become a professional practitioner with a degree is beyond tantalizing, even though it wouldn't have flown in the battle of Hastings of 1067.
A side note on the side, I have encountered some difficulty putting into practice some of your earlier exercises. They all seem to require a form of direct interaction with people, now ordinarily I can see that as being a reasonable premise - but we are in the midst of a pandemic here on this planet and consequently, highly sequestered and dare I say isolated. For fools like me, human to human interaction is largely limited to communication via this kind of electronic device - and even then, mostly through this archaic form of written communication. So the opportunity of slipping something into a conversation just hasn't presented itself very often. I wondered if perhaps you might tailor some exercises for other earthlings in this predicament?
Keep up the good work. Stay foolish and carry on.