Sometimes what we desire seems impossible and out of reach. Sadly, for many of us, this gap between where we are and where we want to be seems so wide that we don’t even try. But getting what you want and being who you want is nothing more than an elaborate magic trick.
If fact, life itself is some kind of magic trick. Think about it. How did a rabbit appear out of a hat, and how the hell did we get here? Why in this country, to these parents, with these set of circumstances?
Everything about our life is just a magic trick. The friends we have, the children that suddenly appeared in our midst… ok maybe not suddenly, we kind of know how the process works, but that is precisely my point. It too is nothing more than some kind of magic trick. We might know how things work, but that doesn’t take away from the miracle that it actually works.
At them moment I am filled with the marvel that is creation. The fact that I am sitting here writing and that gravity allows me to stay in one spot and not float away. I am amazed that there is a lightbulb above me so I can see in the darkness. I am electrified by the idea that my computer has power and I am able to type and that I can connect my thoughts to people who are so very far away.
I marvel at the fact that the coffee I am drinking seems impossible to imagine. The beans were grown and picked far, far away. They were brought here by truck, sorted. Someone started a coffee shop, employed people, took the risk to open up and waited for me to arrive. That is one fantastic and daring magic trick!
So if life is some kind of magic trick, what the hell are you waiting for? Why are you waiting for an invitation to pull out a deck of cards, get a magic trunk, or saw your trusted assistant in half? Why not get after the things that seem so impossible and out of reach? What is it that you don’t think you have or that seems so impossible to imagine.
If you find yourself here, alive, you have everything you need to get out of life what you desire. You might hot have everything in your bag of tricks, but be assured that what you need is somewhere and it is possible for you to have it, if you purposefully set out to get it.
My dad used to speak about Jesus and the apostles. He was fascinated by the deep meaning of crucifixion.
Jesus had twelve apostles. One betrayed him, and we know how that ended. The other eleven had a choice to make. To stand next to the cross or to run and hide. One teenager stood by the foot of the cross, and the other ten men ran, denied, and hid.
My dad took great pride in telling me the moral of that story. John, the kid who had the courage to stand by the foot of the cross, lived a long life and died a natural death. The other ten, were brutally hunted and killed by the Roman authorities. It’s funny really, he would tell me. In life you have two choices. You can pay the cost upfront, or you can run and you’ll pay later. Paying up front is better, no matter how hard or impossible it is.
It’s the better magic trick.
Cover photo generously provided by photographer Huges de Buyer-Mimeure.
https://unsplash.com/@huguesdb
