It has been
an element deeply seated in nearly every civilization from the
beginning of time...
From ancient
Egypt and the magicians in Pharoah's palace, to Victorian India
and the fakir's infamous rope trick;
From the fabled
wizard Merlin in King Arthur's court, to the Copperfields, Burtons,
and Blaines of our modern times...
...The Art
Of Wonder has been practiced as a tool of religion, entertainment,
chicanery and enchantment.
So, with such
a diverse heritage -- both sacred and profane -- why dedicate
this corner of cyberspace to wondermaking?
Because
I believe that "wonder" is what makes life worth living.
That's a pretty
strong statement, but if you watch a child's eyes light up when
you vanish a coin and pull it out of his ear, you see the power
of "wonder" at work. Most kids will beg
to see it again and then beg to know how to do it. It
really is a moment in time for the wondermaker to gently suggest
that the "miracle" was real and the child needs to
see things through the eyes of wonder.
It is that
innocence which is lost in the grown-up sophistication of cell
phones, PDAs, wireless internet and the like. As we
grow older, we lose much of our ability to see through the eyes
of wonder.
Tragically,
this is where many of us abide for the most of our lives.
Once in a while, we have the chance to regain it for a fleeting
moment in a movie theatre, watching the latest blockbuster film. For
those few moments, we truly experience wonder -- we don't try
to figure out how the director used computer mattes, chroma keys
and miniature sets. We duck at the laser cannons,
we cheer for the heros, and become hopeless romantics when the
hero gets the girl -- until we get to parking lot and try to
find our groundbound vehicles.
That's
a shame...
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