Magic

Tonight I was spinning fire poi with some of my friends and found myself in a conversation about magic. Part of the reason my friend loves the circus arts is because when they’re done well the performance becomes magical and the performer a magician.
Magic is a curious thing to think about. Its wonder stems from its supposed impossibility and before this class I honestly thought that shamans, medicine men, and magicians were just good liars or deceivers. However, upon meeting Celinda and participating in a pipe ceremony my interest in magic that has been absent since childhood became instantly revitalized, my experience at Pine Ridge only furthered this interest. Just because an event takes place that doesn’t fit with standard scientific precepts and theories certainly does not mean it is neither possible nor likely. There are so many things that we cannot explain in today’s world but they still take place. Mike Jr. and Sr.’s analysis of what was ailing Tim and Theresa was phenomenal, as was the result of our first pipe ceremony, and the many sweats in which we partook. We needn’t always reduce these inexplicable happenings to theoretical waves and particles but rather I find it more useful to just be in awe of their might and their mystery. The world is an amazing place full of beauty, wonder, and all sorts of things we’ll never figure out. It is a privilege, as the Lakota people recognize, to live here and we should respect the Earth from which we came and to which we shall return. This class has taught me many things but one of the most valuable things I’ve learned is not to always rationalize everything but sometimes just to sit in wonderment of our existence. There will always be ups and downs, wins and losses, and loves and heartbreaks, but we mustn’t forget that all the while, by some impossible stroke of luck, we won the lottery and got a shot at this beautiful, magical thing called life.