I’ve always been fascinated by magic. As a young whipper-snapper, I had a set of metal rings and some trick cards. But I could never get the schtick down. I was too shy to put myself out there and really grab people’s attention (part of the reason I gravitated to writing and art, where I can hide behind the page).
Yet the idea of fooling the audience fascinated me. I often yearned more for the HOW than truly appreciating the actual trickery. I wanted to pull back the curtain and see the real Oz. That’s why I’m drawn time and again to Penn and Teller. They show you how to make the trick happen, and then trick you again. Such an addictive show.
Yet at its core, magic is just tricking us. Misdirecting the mind to see or think one way, when something covert happens just under the radar. We think we know what is going on, but we really have no clue.
And this is true with life. We like to think we have a hand in what happens to us. That events fall into place with some pre-ordained purpose. But we don’t. My mind often grasps for reasons for this or that event. Was it trying to guide me to a certain outcome? A karmic life lesson?
And then the pandemic happened and I simply couldn’t rationalize that all this was happening just to affect me. The world was truly out of my control.
Yet you can’t live your life as a helpless cork, bobbing through the seas of time. You have to at least feel like you have a modicum of control.
It reminds me of the one time I went river rafting. We were suited up in protective gear and taught how to work the paddles to guide the raft. Yet as I zoomed down the river, sometimes at a drifting pace and others at a helter skelter race, I realized that I really had zero control over my outcome. The river was going to pull me down stream, like it or not. There was no fighting it. Yes, I could influence it a little (maybe steer clear of a dangerous rapid), but in the end, my efforts at controlling the raft amounted to squat.
Except, I would not feel the same had I stepped into the raft empty handed. I needed that paddle. Holding onto it and slapping it fruitlessly in the water comforted me. It was like those magicians who fluttered their hands and to draw your attention. My mind wasn’t thinking about the crushing watery death that might await around the next bend. Instead I could manage the ride because I thought I was in control. At least a little.
So as you traverse the dangerous waters of your life, remember to keep a death grip on that paddle. It probably doesn’t do a damned thing, but holding on to it makes us feel better. And either way, we’re going to be yanked down the river, so feeling okay about it is not such a bad thing.
Tim Kane
We often overestimate how much control we have. But we also underestimate the power of free will and choice. We can try to choose paths that go in direction wanted or minimize going off path altogether.
Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your article seem to be running off the screen in Internet explorer. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The style and design look great though! Hope you get the issue fixed soon. Kudos
It’s probably a wordpress think. I know that Internet Explorer is on it’s way out. Replaced by Edge. Not sure if I can fix it on my end. Sorry.
Throughout this great scheme of things you get a B+ for effort and hard work. Where you lost everybody was in the specifics. As it is said, details make or break the argument.. And it couldn’t be more correct here. Having said that, allow me reveal to you just what did work. The article (parts of it) can be rather powerful and this is probably why I am taking an effort to comment. I do not really make it a regular habit of doing that. Second, even though I can see a leaps in reasoning you come up with, I am not really convinced of just how you appear to connect the details that make your final result. For the moment I will, no doubt yield to your position but hope in the near future you actually link your facts better.