Haven’t we all had days like young Ms. Gale? We simply are trying to protect the one we love from those who cause harm. At the same time, thankful for the ones along the way who help us make the best decision. Yet, as life would have it, just around the corner is a another crisis waiting for us as we are dealing with a current one. Life sure has it’s twist and turns, like a tornado, with good hearts and evil characters, life lessons, and… flying monkeys?
I was at a shop with a girlfriend who was looking for a new pair of shoes. As she was deciding on her pair, I walked around. I came across a pair of glittery red shoes. I thought, those would make Dorothy Gale proud! Oh how a pair of shoes changed the life of a girl from Kansas. My first thought was to wonder what it would be like to walk a mile-or a yellow brick road-in her shoes, but, quickly concluded that I have, or all us have actually.
We are all on the same journey from our birth to our eternal, personal hereafter. We all have a story; we all walk our own brick road. Even when we have someone walk the path with us, they still wear different shoes. We walk for different reasons. We search for different things at different times in our short lives.
What makes the journey worth it? It’s who we meet along the way and the lessons we learn and what we share.
Due to a tornado or a ‘crisis’ in her life, Dorothy is forced onto a path of self discovery. Dorothy’s adventure sends her in search for the great Oz to send her back home while trying to avoid a wicked witch. Often times that wicked witch is the doubt and fear in our hearts.
What road are you currently on? Is it one you are happy with or one you desperately wish you could change? Dorothy followed the yellow brick road because she was told it would lead to the solution that she wanted. Along this path Dorothy made some friends, just as we do along our life journey. Just like she had her own personal “if only”, so did her friends. “If only I had a heart, brain, and some nerve,” they told her. Sure we all seek more compassion, wisdom, and courage, but if all we do is stay where we are and wish, we don’t get what we want. As a true friend will do, Dorothy invited them to join her on her journey to help them find what they seek. As we grow older we realize what a privilege it is to be invited to go on a journey and to be apart of another life. As we go down a road with those we care deeply about we not only build bonds that can not be easily broken, but we learn much about ourselves.
As we reach our destination of one of our many journeys we can look back and see just how far we’ve come and who was there along the way. When Dorothy and her friends finally reached the great and powerful Oz, they were disappointed as he was not what they expected. What do we do when expectations are let down? We have a choice to make in our reaction. For Dorothy and her friends, I think they learned some valuable lessons. Life will occasionally not turn out like we hoped, maybe even appear hopeless. How would Dorothy ever get home? In these times, one of the only options is to look within ourselves. What do we have to help us solve our problem, or to help a friend? I think Dorothy discovered that no one thing or one person can make us happy and we have to find happiness for ourselves.
She was hoping the Oz could provide her with an easy way back home. Let’s be real, when we have a crisis we all try and search for the easiest solution or answer. However, as life would have it, it is not in the ‘easy’ that we actually change and grow and become a better person. For Dorothy, the Oz could not really help her, but the ruby slippers that were on her feet during the entire journey was her solution.
“You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas”, said Glinda the Good Witch to Dorothy. So if she always had the answer with her why did she have to go through the long journey on the yellow brick road? Isn’t life really about the journey? The trip with the ones she met along the way help develop Dorothy into a better person. Just like you have the power within yourself to find solutions and to be truly happy. It’s when we think we must do this or that, or be with someone, or get here or there that clouds our view and our own power. The power is in your own heart. Perhaps for you, it is time to declare, “Let the joyous news be spread! The Wicked Old Witch at last is dead!” Step out of fear and doubt.
Home really is where the heart is. In order for Dorothy to return home she needed to realize, “There’s no place like home.” We need to believe and live what we truly want. Home is more than just a structure where we live; home is an open heart to our passions, our loved ones, and a peaceful state of being. It is where we know the truth and we find ourselves. No matter where you go or what you do, you can always be at home in your heart.
We can learn much from Dorothy and her friends and the adventure over the rainbow about life and our relationships, but here are just a few:
- “There’s no place like home.” Dorothy
- “I learned that, if I ever go looking for my hearts desire again… I shouldn’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.” Dorothy
- “You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; you’re confusing courage with wisdom.” Wizard of Oz
- “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.” Wizard of Oz
- “As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.” Wizard of Oz
“But I still want one.” The Tin Man
And of course, as most woman know, the perfect pair of shoes can take you exactly where you need to go, looking great along the way!
Jessie Rex 