Keep the illusion alive...

A little birdie asked that I write about illusions.

Not elusions or evasions, but rather the kind that causes one to be misled. I'm talking the Wizard of Oz kind of illusions that bring 'a man behind the curtain' kind-of-work to mind.

Anyway, we all have our own illusions. You know the kind of beliefs that keep us feeling warm and safe. Take away the warm fuzzy iron-clad thoughts and you're left with that man-behind-the-scenes manipulating reality. Of course, he's only manipulating reality to keep up with his own illusion -- no matter what it may be.

Not that it matters. What matters is that we keep watering our own illusions in order to keep them alive. That way we can remain safe in the reality we have created.

What others have said about illusions:

* The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the continents, and the oceans was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. -- Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, professor, attorney and writer

* The first man to see an illusion by which men have flourished for centuries surely stands in a lonely place. -- Gary Zukav, author and former Green Beret officer who served during Vietnam

* It is respectable to have illusions -- and safe and profitable and dull. -- Joseph Conrad, Polish/British novelist

* Illusion is the first of the pleasures. -- Voltaire, French enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher

* Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces. -- Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist

* Official truths are often powerful illusions. -- John Pilger, Australian journalist and documentary maker

* Show me a man who claims he is objective and I'll show you a man with illusions. -- Henry R. Luce, American publisher

* Action is consolatory. It is the enemy of thought and the friend of flattering illusions. --Joseph Conrad, Polish/British novelist

* I don't think the human mind can comprehend the past and the future. They are both just illusions that can manipulate you into thinking there's some kind of change. -- Bob Dylan, American singer/songwriter

* I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is. -- Alan Watts, British philosopher, writer and speaker

* Language, philosophy and science are interwoven into the design of words, which are manipulated to create surprising illusions. -- John Langdon, first president pro tempore of the Senate

* It is our illusions that create the world. -- Didier Cauwelaert, French author

Cheerio.... from one illusion-maker to the next.

Timberly is a staff writer at the Greene County Daily World. She can be reached by e-mail at tferree@gcdailyworld.com or by phone at 1-800-947-4487 or (812) 847-4487.