Wednesday's Word -- Illusion

I've been reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and thinking about the word illusion.  (Don't take this as a recommendation of the book . . . .  Many parts are wonderfully metaphoric and creative, while other parts are worth skipping due to graphic descriptions that I can do without and still appreciate the tale  . . . .)  

Illusion comes from a root meaning to play or jest.  It finds its origin in the Latin illudere, meaning to mock at.  A client sent me this (almost hypnotic) optical illusion today, and it has me thinking about the reality that things are often not what they appear to be . . .