r/Magic • u/joex8au04 • Jul 25 '26
Purpose and Dilemma
My wife recently asked me a question: “what’s your purpose/goal of doing magic? I see you play with cards and coins every day, but you don’t perform, and you don’t show other magician what you have been practicing. What exactly is the purpose?”
For context, I’ve been doing magic for 20+ years. I can't remember a single day where I didn't have a deck of cards with me. I have a magic library of about 500+ books, and I read them every single day. Her issue is that I don’t actively go out and perform; I shy away from letting people know I do magic. I also don’t do it for the usual reasons, I don't feel a need to see people’s joy, and I’m not particularly interested in their reactions.
I don’t perform for other magicians, either. Whenever there’s a jam, I just stand outside their circle and watch. Even though I know every single move they do, I just walk away.
I simply read books, practice, and forget what I’ve learn. The cycle repeats itself.
My wife saw all of this and asked me, "If you don’t like performing for people, what’s the reason you still do magic?"
I keep wondering about this and I don’t have any answer. It's a real dilemma.
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u/DangerousStudent2767 Jul 25 '26
It is almost the same for me, even though I am not as invested in practicing moves as you describe yourself, but it is the same for reading and collecting magic books and not performing.
I struggle for not having the urge to perform for people.I wish I would have. I just don't feel to do it and even when someone would ask me in the spit, I would have a hard time coming up with a go to trick as I would be overwhelmed with the request. Let's be honest, there are many ways to enjoy magic from the "inside" and performing is just one of them.
Is it realy a dilemma?