As he slowly covers the cage with a dark cloth a mysterious silence envelopes the crowd. The eerie silence adds to the tension and enigma in the air. The magician knows this with gusto and an elaboration of every on of his moves he walks across the stage, the music slowly rises to a crescendo with his every step, and then stops. He pulls back the cloth and where lay a pile of papers now chirps and flutters a yellow canary. The crowd is in awe. There is ear shattering applause as the magician takes his bow and walks away leaving the crowd asking themselves, “How does he do that?” Although the few who would have the guts to actually ask him would just get the answer “A good magician never reveals his secrets.”
A good magician never reveals his secrets
When I was still a young child there was a magician on KBC that had us glued to our televisions everyday. With the magic words “Rambo baqmbo boom boom” John Rodrigues introduced us to world of endless impossibilities, anything could happen. In retrospect I understand that they were just simple sleight of hand tricks but the whole idea of something happening and you cant see how it happened was just fascinating to us and as children it wasn’t a trick. It was magic. Life was magical full of fairies and goblins that we couldn’t see round every corner. Seeing was not believing, imagining was. Some call it being gullible some call it being naïve, that however is an argument for another Sunday.
Sometimes you are that magician. It is like everyone is watching and the music is adding more and more pressure then at just the right moment they wait for you to pull a rabbit out of your hat. Now, if you do, you are a hero, they will love you, applaud when you take your bow, appreciate everything you do. However, if you don’t, you are a fraud. A fake. Yet still like that musician we fail to learn the most important lesson in life. No one really cares how you did it. No one really wants to see or know the really itty gritty details. Ever noticed how no matter what the reason is that you failed to perform at that crucial moment it always sound like an excuse? That’s the thing, the hand is faster than the mind. The reason we are so drawn to magicians is because the enigma intrigues us. Once you know how they do what they do the loose their mystery and intrigue. So when you are backed up against the wall and you have pulled all stops, and when you reached into that top hat you felt bunny ears, never forget, a good magician never reveals his secrets.
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