We hold our illusions close to us in this life. But things are often not as they seem. We think shoes will bring us happiness, that we can by some miracle do justice to a job that we are unqualified for, that if we take care of someone and bestow upon them the things they desire that we can bring them happiness. Maybe sometimes we manage to pull the rabbit out of that hat. But other times, we have no choice but to release the poor bunny and let it fend for itself.
Maybe the only way to manage is to keep making magic as long as we can. "The Illusionist" certainly does a fine job of working its movie magic.