Magic has fallen on hard times in America seeing as how most people simply don’t believe in the spiritual realm above us, but David Blaine wants to change that. He said, “I’d like to bring magic back to the place it used to be 100 years ago.”
Back then, magic was special and profound, and, incidentally, very connected to the spiritual world. So much so that if you were raised religious you were definitely taught something about magic; it’s either evil, or it’s a slippery slope towards it.
That’s the southern orthodoxy.
Throughout history there have been folks on both sides: the magicians and the skeptics.
The ones who believe in the “other world” and the ones who don’t.
The ones who love to be hoodwinked and those who pretend they never were.
It seems to me that our country has settled into a place in between: we wouldn’t mind believing in ghosts part-time, just not full-time.
Silly rabbit, magic is for kids.
Magic has definitely fallen on hard times.
But David Blaine’s magic is a blend of both the ethereal and the cynical. His career has evolved from sleight of hand card tricks into actual feats of courage and discipline.
The magic he does at this point isn’t really magic at all. There is nothing for the skeptics to poke holes in because David isn’t asking you to believe anything more than what you see.
As such, he has actually amended his title: Wikipedia calls him an illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer.
So instead of wowing us by concealing his secrets, he seeks to wow us while having no secrets.
One time he held his breath for 17 minutes. He really did.
Another time he locked himself into a glass box, dangling over London, and didn’t eat for 44 days. He really did.
Another time he stood atop an 80-foot pole in Manhattan for 35 hours. Not unbelievable, but definitely unimaginable.
And then, more recently, he floated into the sky holding a bundle of balloons. It was inspirational.
All of his accomplishments are more like stunts than tricks, because David has pivoted his mission away from awing people with what is impossible to inspiring them with what is possible.
This is what happens when you cram an indefinably large and complex universe into a narrow, materialistic worldview. Some leakage happens.
For example, you and I really do want to find a UFO—something inside us is yearning not to be alone on this planet in this vast universe.
But we don’t want a UFO from another realm, outside this space-time continuum we call home, outside the field of our observations. Outside our control. Do we?
We want to be wowed and feel like we are in the presence of the Transcendent, but we don’t really want a Transcendent being to show up. We don’t want ghosts (who would!) but we sort of wish they did exist, especially if they were nice. And like us.
Blaine is Houdini for the modern era.
But, like Evil Kanevil, there is a line that even Blaine can’t cross, and that line may one day sneak up on him.
Regardless of timing, one day—hopefully a very long time in the future, Blaine will be no more. When that day comes, we will mourn the loss of such a brave and talented and disciplined artist, and we will remember the inspiration and wonder he created within us.
But we will still be here, in South Georgia, and our kids and grandkids will keep being afraid of ghosts, keep being in love with fairy tales of magic and beings from the nether regions.
The leakage will continue, even if through our kids, and we will be left looking for another hero, one who points us to a deeper magic that reaches even into the utter depths of the universe.
One who doesn’t just inspire, but leaves us in awe.
That magical day is coming!
Have an awesome week.