Illusions & Spells & the Warriors Who Break Them

It's one of the precepts of particle physics that matter is neither created nor destroyed - it just changes form. Solid becomes liquid, liquid becomes gas, gas becomes... solid again? Something. I don't know. I'm not a physicist.

But for the realm of psychology, I can offer a parallel theory: illusions are neither created nor destroyed - they just change into slightly more twisted illusions, or they're passed down to the most gullible child, or they pop up somewhere in the Midwest after a particularly ill-conceived episode of Oprah. (It happens, rarely, but it does.)

For example, "If a guy loves me, he'll know what I want/need" is an illusion. "Other people have more extra money than I do," is usually an illusion. "People who look different are different," "People who look the same are the same," "Politicians tell the truth," "Politicians lie"... they're all illusions.

Illusions are part of the human condition. Since we aren't omniscient, we don't usually know why things happen, but not knowing isn't tolerable. Seriously. If any of us were really, truly, deeply in touch with how unknowable everything is and how extraordinarily chaotic our plane of existence is, we'd fall off the edge of sanity, never to be heard from again.

So, we have to make stuff up, invent possible reasons things happen, plausible mechanisms and theoretical metaphysical laws that help us feel that our world makes sense. Organizing principles. Made-up organizing principles. Illusions.

It's OK. Illusions are way better than insanity. And most of them are just fine. They're our friends. If thinking you need to work hard to be successful inspires you to work hard and makes you successful doing something you love, and you're happy, then... rock on. No harm, no foul.

And besides, who are we to say? We humans are very accomplished at creating self-fulfilling prophecies, so how can we ever say the illusions aren't "true" or "real"? We can't. So we might as well roll with it.

Except, in some cases, when they go unchallenged and unchecked, illusions can become like spells - perception-twisting, judgment-blocking magic spells that we have no idea have been cast on us. Spells are illusions that have grown cancerous. They become very serious, and we take them very seriously, and we become very upset if people or circumstances don't line up in support of the spells we're under. This, is not helpful. This, sucks.

Luckily, our world has an elite force of professionals who break spells for a living - warriors fighting the cancers, freeing us from the bonds of overly serious made-up rules. No, I'm not talking about therapists, though we do our part. And I'm not talking about investigative journalists, though their hearts are in the right place.

I'm talking about comedians.

Humor is the great spell-breaker of our world. When we are under a spell, toiling in narrow-mindedness, taking ourselves and our burdens way too seriously, believing whatever made-up organizing principle we chose in an easier moment, nothing snaps us out of it quicker or more gently than a comedy routine, pointing out the absurdities and cracking us up.

And if you don't have a Chris Rock or Louis CK or Demetri Martin handy, tap into your inner comedian and make fun of yourself. Just be nice about it. Don't let your inner critic masquerade as an inner comedian and roast you in mean-spirited ways. This is nice funny. Be nice funny. Your inner comedian is on your side.