We have to believe we are magic

"How'd he do that?"

Laughter peals from my left, outside my frame of vision.

"Wait! Wait! Do that again!"

I'm in Las Vegas walking through a food court area with a friend who is an excellent magician. He'd been doing a card trick for these guys at the bar but it's the bartender's astonished face and request to repeat the trick that makes me smile.

R.J. has asked me to assist him with his show that he'll be putting on in the evening. We've been going since our rehearsal at 11:30 AM the day before in L.A.. I'm exhausted but enjoying the experience.

Magic has always been, well.....magical for me since childhood. My Dad's friend used to pull quarters out from my mouth or from behind my ear and I'd look on in wonder.

When R.J. asked me to assist him I was a little worried that I'd lose the wonder in finding out how things worked. But it's actually the opposite. I'm actually much more amazed at the skill it takes to do it all well.

I will watch, knowing how a trick is done, eyes peeled out for the moves i know are there and I still see nothing. His hands move so quickly. Really, it's taken years of hard work to manipulate so smoothly.

It's midnight at the Beauty Bar. The music is rockin' and loud. The flashing lights are spinning. There's a crowd of people dancing on the stage next to our setup.

Looking around I realize that this place matches R.J.'s style of magic. The walls are vibrant red and black and the bartender's hair is teased up into a beehive. R.J. is a naturally hip and cool guy without being pretentious. Charisma. And his magic is edgy, fun, and entertaining.

As we stand on the side of the stage I'm running through the show in my head. The first trick is tricky and we had some problems during our first rehearsal. The energy from R.J. is nervous and excited. As we talk/shout I remind R.J.(and myself) that everything will work out in the end and we should just have fun. He calms down a little and soon we're on.

After the show my mind races back through the evening. And I realize that no matter how skeptical we are as humans there is still a part of us that wants to be amazed.

We that the magic isn't real. Yet we experience this confusion because the brain cannot understand that what it sees. There is a contradiction between the brain is being told intellectually and the visual experience. It's in that moment. That astonishment--where the magic really happens. Where I can look at a person's face and smile because I see that we're wired for hope. For amazement. For magic.

And it leaves me feeling encouraged and satisfied in a way I can't really put into words.