The Thrill of Magic
2026 Feb 08
Before the age of maybe 8 or 9, I think most kids have an intuitive feeling that magic can be real. Fantasy, myths and fairy stories seem to tell us of a deeper truth than the humdrum world. We find out about Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy eventually and we slowly find out how to put on our adult armour.
It’s a necessary defence I suppose, but it’s kind of sad when we put on this cloak of cynicism. Here’s the golden hero of the Greek Cynics, Heracles
In a airport queue in Delhi, I met the British youth for the first time in about a year. They wanted to see the magic I was doing, but they all did so with a little sneer. It was an affront to their street cred to not know how it was done. Being naive is social death, but being ‘cool’ comes at such a price.
A really good trick can trigger that childhood sense of wonderment. This poem says it succinctly: magic tricks.
With an open mind-set just about anything can evoke this state. I know of friends who feel this when studying mathematics, geology, astronomy and so forth. For me, meditation brings it about. The perception becomes very clear and open. Fewer things are taken for granted, there aren’t as many assumptions being made. There is an acceptance that we don’t hardly know anything at all and that things are simply amazing in themselves.
When my dad showed me the French Drop I had that thrill of magic, the thrill of how great my dad was and how much fun the world and life could be!
When we show a well executed effect for someone, we just might be giving them a gift of great value!
My dad gave that to me. Thanks dad :)