The Key to Life is the Closest Thing We Have to Magic
Stephan King said, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” To read is to voyage through time. Someone dead can speak to you through their writing. But I’m not talking about the metaphorical. I’m talking about the supernatural. Real magic. Let me prove it: Jun 14, 1985 — My name is Van D. Trinh, born (as DVT) on the northern coast of Vietnam. Our family immigrated to Canada when I was five. Settling in a small town in Southwestern Ontario where all the kids would attend Catholic school. In grade 8, I played Jesus in the school play. Mr. Thus walked into the class and asked, “Who wants to play Jesus?” Nobody said anything so I raised my hand. In the end, it was between me and a girl, we picked straws and I won. In 2016, I started dabbling in standup comedy, philosophy and writing on cultural issues. Dr. Jordan Peterson appeared so we snuck into one of his classes at the University of Toronto and questioned him on the topics of Jung, Dawkins and archetypes. I released “Jordan Peterson’s Top 10 Truths,” Sam Harris invites Jordan back onto his podcast on the same day, then they go on tour together, first city: Vancouver. I received a message from a childhood training partner. Master Sun passed away and left something behind for me. It was my black belt, found in his storage unit. I would frequent a local coffee shop and befriended a theologian. Ambrose was completing his PhD in Old Testament studies and decided to include me in his dissertation. I published my debut book “The Key to Life: In 365 Quotes.” On the same day, Kanye’s “Key to Life” song was released. We’ve both arrived here without each other’s knowledge. On May 8, 2025, the first American pope, Chicago’s Robert Francis Prevost was named Pope Leo XIV. Notice the numbers 8, 5 and 14. I’m claiming magic. -Van
