American Tricksters by Jackson William J.;Thuesen Peter;

Author:Jackson, William J.;Thuesen, Peter;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781630877330
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Published: 2015-01-13T08:00:00+00:00

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Tomorrow

Lessons We Need to Learn from Trickster

We are made up of falsehood, duplicity, inconsistency; and we hide and disguise these things from ourselves.

—Blaise Pascal255

What Soul Lessons Might Trickster Teach Us?

At first blush it may not be clear what useful roles might be played by tuning in to the dynamics of the trickster archetype in the psyche’s processes. Some may worry that paying attention to tricks might promote deception, fraud, instability, and disorderly conduct. I believe a wise awareness of the dynamics of the trickster archetype has a salutary effect and is useful for a variety of purposes. In traditional societies trickster stories have offered life-supportive functions. Sometimes trickster stories teach people about their limits, illustrating pitfalls to avoid, reminding them about the disastrous results of certain acts. With awareness of the mythic trickster there is an embrace of the psyche’s non-linear depth reality. Without any sense of the trickster archetype, there is some degree of humorless rigidity—no matter how soberly and responsibly one comports oneself, there is a flat dullness out of tune with life. Without appreciating trickster’s shrewdness and gumption, one is victim to irrationality or one-sidedness of one sort or another. Experiencing trickster lessons is often no picnic, especially when it involves learning things the hard way; but that experience is a needed corrective to excessive naiveté.

Trickster is as trickster does. But what does trickster know? What knowledge does he embody? And what does knowledge of tricksters allow us to know? When there is soulfulness in the trickster it involves knowing about life, knowing the score, being seasoned and not green, not naive about life’s ways. James Baldwin observed in the 1960s that Europeans and African Americans often characterized Americans as children. Why? “Americans have so little experience—experience referring not to what happens, but to whom—that they have no key to the experiences of others.”256 I would add that we Americans often lack a sense of the interconnectedness of people, suffering from an illusory sense of isolated existences. Those who have a bent toward authoritarianism don’t trust their own experiences; they aren’t sure how to think for themselves. They crave the comforts of simplicity and would like to put up a “do not disturb sign” on their doors. To have a blank slate and to lack caring when thinking of others is to be numb, unable to resonate with other humans’ lives. Experiences of living outside America and knowing the experiences of minorities inside America can add dimensions of understanding, as many former Peace Corp volunteers can attest. Lacking such dimensions makes one narrower, less able to know oneself and the rest of the world. The trickster traipses across borders, bridges gaps, wanders, and interacts; even his aimless acts end up linking realms together and revealing interconnections. The trickster teaches: “Don’t take either trust or tricks for granted; appreciate the bonds of interrelations among us, and also know the play possible in the spaces between us.”

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Inspirations—delicate outbursts of ideas—are sparked in our experiences. What inspires us?

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