Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Some people go to a magic show and accept the “truth.” They accept the illusion. Deep down, they know there was trickery, but since they can’t figure it out, they keep their disbelief suspended. David Copperfield can fly. Believe! say the eyes. Unbelievable! says the mind. Hmm, says the gut. I saw Copperfield fly, but I believe in nature’s laws.
As the general audience leaves the theater, amazed at what they saw, the creative person returns to investigate. He knows something’s up. Even though his eyes saw, his gut won’t let him accept. Something is amiss. Nature will not be defied.
When you perceive an obstacle, treat it like a magic show. Don’t accept it blindly. Come back to what seems to be stopping you. Am I going to run out of money? Am I going to be sad if I am alone? What “they” say, what my mind declares as true, and what statistics say about being single at sixty-five—is that true? Is my condition incurable? Is my fate doomed?
The illusionist does lots of tricks. The eyes, the mind, and the sense of control are convincing. I sometimes get caught believing that I, as the individual, am moving my body—as if it’s inert, dumb, and “mine.” But as I trust my heart to beat, and I trust my fingers to move on the keyboard, these words just appear. I trust that my voluntary control is an illusion, too.
Something doesn’t sit right with me that I am relegated to a bag of skin and there is a pilot in the bodysuit. Something’s fishy. I know it looks like David Copperfield flies. But I know (without proving it) that there are strings and mirrors in my sense of autonomous control. Take a second look at what appears to be stopping you. There’s a workaround. It’s an illusion. Nature won’t be defied.