Birth and death. We all know of someone who has died suddenly – for no apparent reason. This happens more as we get older. When we were much, much younger, we saw women who suddenly became pregnant – also for no apparent reason (that was before we learnt about the birds and the bees).

Does life happen in an orderly sequence or is it just a random series of events held together by periods of limbo? When a gunman goes on a killing spree in a school or shopping centre, it is described as a random slaughter of innocent people. When someone wins the lottery, it seems like a series of random numbers clicking into place.  But every lottery eventually has a winner and every life has an end These are not events that have a slight probability of happening. There is 100% chance.

That is why the police try to piece together pieces of random information to find the criminal. They know that somewhere in there is the motive – and the motive leads to the plan.

Life is held together by illusions and the seemingly random nature of everyday living helps to add another mask to the true face of being a human. Random acts show that we have little control over anything – yet those acts are caused by someone or something. If you get hit by a bus today, the bus driver did it.

There are no flukes.

When a magician performs a trick, it is all orchestrated – even though it seems to happen by accident. The dilemma for the audience is that whilst magic is clearly designed to trick – what if just this time, it is real? Or, if it is obviously a trick, how is the illusion created? As the audience tries to find logic, it starts to miss the whole purpose of the show.

I have learnt that the best way to experience a magician’s act is to ‘know’ that it is an illusion – but just enjoy it as if it was real. Just like going to watch a movie.

Life is magic. Nothing is random. Just live and enjoy.