I love the Wizard of Oz. When I was a little girl, I would eagerly anticipate the one time a year it was played on the television. We all crammed into the living room and gathered around the 18-inch screen. Though times have changed, there are a few universal themes that the movie ushered in to my young and developing mind. I remember being enamored by the contrast between the black and white of the daily grind and the vibrant colors of Oz. Are you living a black and white, going through the motions kind of life? Do you long to live in full color with sparkling ruby slippers and all? The journey toward purpose is a journey inward, back to the truth of who you are. But how do you get there? Where do you begin? Simply take a step for a change and just follow the yellow brick road…
Another part of the movie that struck me was young Dorothy’s courage to step into the great unknown all alone. Once she stepped onto the path, everything she needed appeared. She found her community by stepping out in faith. She reached out to help a scarecrow who was up in a lurch, pausing along the way to oil up a rusty tin man, and looking beyond a cowardly lion’s roar to see the sweet and tender interior. Maybe our tribe, the people we need to help fulfill our life’s purpose, are right outside of our door. We only need courage enough to take a step for a change, reach out and help someone, and just follow the yellow brick road…
Finally, the most profound truth of the movie, is that everything that is really needed has been there all along. We travel great distances in search or something; striving and reaching, when the best thing is always to cultivate a pause, and turn in to notice. There is so much magnificence within… Celebrate it! Let your heart say thank you for the mind, heart, courage and pathway home to the center that has been within you all along. Be brave like Dorothy Gale and show up for yourself for a change.