Jack / Maid of Diamonds

«THE LUCKY ONE»
As a person:
trusted messenger, a child
Characteristics:
Uninhibitedly happy.
Receive - share - receive - pass on - receive - let go.
Always open for new luck.
'When one flower has withered, another blossoms nearby.'

The fairy tale 'Hans in Luck' by the Brothers Grimm is an excellent illustration of the Jack of Diamonds.
One can look at the fairy tale from different perspectives.
Hans can be seen as a simpleton, who does not know how to handle material goods and gambles everything away.
Or you can recognize in Hans an innocent lad, who frees himself more and more from inhibiting burden. Who, even if he is being cheated on, still goes on with joyful spirit and a light heart and returns home empty-handed and happy.

Hans in Luck

(summarized from the original)

"After seven years of working with his master, Hans wanted to return home to his mother. For his devoted and honest work he was rewarded with a lump of gold as big as his head. The lump was heavy. Hans labored to drag himself along.

He passed by a rider. Without any effort, he trotted along. "Oh, what a beautiful thing riding is! I would like to be that comfortable," Hans said to the horseman. After a short conversation with him, Hans got rid of his heavy load of gold. Happy and relieved, he now sat on the horse and set off with a new spirit. But before he knew it, he landed in a ditch. The nag had thrown him off while trotting.

A passing farmer with a cow was able to catch the runaway horse and brought it back to poor Hans. "Oh how good it is to have a cow. You can walk along so leisurely and have milk, butter and cheese every day," Hans said to the farmer. The farmer was ready for the exchange. Hans now calmly prodded his cow in front of him and considered the happy trade. In great joy he ate up all his provisions at once, because he now had the cow. Arriving on a heathland he was thirsty. He knelt down to milk the cow. But no matter how hard he tried, not a drop of milk came out. His clumsy attempts at milking were answered by the cow with a violent kick to his head.

Luckily, while he was lying there, a butcher came along. He was leading a pig in front of him. He gave Hans a sip from his bottle and told him that this cow was much too old to give milk. It was just good enough to be slaughtered. Meanwhile Hans fancied the pig from the butcher. "I do not like cow meat. If only I had a pig like you. Then I could butcher it and have sausages on top of it." And soon it was time for Hans to take the pig's rope in his hand.

As he walked on he was amazed how everything turned out for his benefit again and again. With every gluttony a new happiness constantly appeared. He told this to a fellow who came to meet him with a goose under his arm. The clever man reported that it would not be a good idea to walk with the pig through the next village. One of them was stolen yesterday. Hans would certainly be under suspicion. Good Hans was frightened. "Come, give me your goose, and you take my pig, so I can go home to my mother safely, and not get stuck in jail." Without a care in the world, he could pass the village. He was looking forward to the good roast goose. Besides, the goose fat would make the best goose fat bread for a quarter of a year and he could have a pillow stuffed with the feathers.

Shortly afterwards he met a singing scissors-grinder in the village. He spoke of the golden age of his craft. Asked about the goose under his arm, Hans told him his whole travelling story from the lump of gold to the goose. "From now on, if you always want money in your pocket, you must become a grinder. You don't need anything else. You give me your goose and I will give you two stones in return," said the scissors-grinder to the astonished Hans. He gave him an old grindstone and an ordinary fieldstone. Hans loaded up the cargo and went on with a cheerful heart. "I must have been born in a skin of happiness," he proclaimed.

However, when he began to get tired and hungry, he wished he did not have to carry this heavy burden. Like a snail he approached a well. He laid the stones on the edge and bent over the water to drink. Accidentally he pushed them and both plumped straight into the water and sank. Hans jumped up happily and thanked God that this blessing was now also granted to him. "There is no man under the sun as happy as I am!" With a light heart and free he now leapt away, until he was home with his mother. »

A few additional thoughts on the fairy tale:
Why is Hans happy?
Why do we suffer?

Hans is willing to experiment in life. If the gold becomes too heavy for him, he does not hold on to this weight and suffers, but can give it away lightheartedly. Because he is in contact with his feelings and his body, he knows from moment to moment what is important to him and where his limits are. It does not even occur to him to suffer for the temptations of success and wealth.

If he can't get along with the horse, he just gets involved in a new experiment. He does not try to force a compromise upon reality. His happiness is his ability to move forward at any time and to engage in something new with all his heart.

In Search of the Miraculous (Auf der Suche nach dem Wunderbaren)