< Previous Post Did you know there are time I will not share my magic?  What kind of question is that? I'm writing this during The Holiday Season of giving, caring, and sharing... But seriously, there are some people and situations where I will not perform. Am I selfish? Yes.  Yes and… It is true, I’m human and fight selfish desires. I want, I feel, I need, and I consume. To confess, like a hedonist, I’m often too focused on my personal desires to entertain myself.  But I’m also self-preserving. This choice to not always perform is beyond being selfish. It’s a more advanced level of being self-aware. It is just making smart choices. There are times that magic is not appropriate. That might be during a special gathering. For example: I’ve been asked to perform a trick at a funeral. Now to the person in the casket, would that be a disrespectful thing? You know, probably not. I mean, I hope people perform magic at my funeral and enjoy themselves.  But the funeral was for a dear friend of mine and I was not able to be fully attentive to the situation. I turned down the opportunity because I was not in the right frame of mind. And more importantly, it was not the right time. It may have offended another grieving person in the room. I could not have possibly given a good performance and it could have been a terrible experience for anyone not amused! Think about it, sometimes it is just not the right moment, not the right environment, or even the right time of day. There are plenty of reasons not to perform when requested. It’s okay to respond with conviction and say, “Not right now.” When you find out someone is a painter, do you ask her to paint a picture right then? When you find out someone is a singer, do you ask him to sing a song right then? Or when you hear that someone is an architect, do you demand visuals of a small scale model of their latest high-rise building? No, of course not. The magician, however, seems to create the highest levels of skepticism and that