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Before you shoot up that drug, take that drink, put up with that bad relationship, or think about what you need, click here and watch the Wizard of Oz.
You’ve probably seen the Wizard of Oz a hundred times, but you didn’t know it was about you. The movie’s about believing in yourself when there’s nothing else you can believe in.
Dorothy and her friends don’t believe in themselves. They’re traipsing all over Oz, trying to find the Wizard who can give them what they need. Dorothy wants to go back home. The Tin Man wants a heart, the Scarecrow a brain, the Lion, some courage. They’ve all been told the Wonderful Wizard of Oz has all the answers.
Dorothy and her friends go through quite a lot of trouble to get answers from the Wizard. Together, they confront the Wicked Witch of the West and her posse of terrifying flying monkeys. Dorothy gets captured, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion demonstrate considerable ingenuity, loyalty, and bravery to sneak into the castle, and Dorothy unexpectedly murders the witch with a bucket of water.
I hope I’m not spoiling it for you.
They return to the Wizard and find that the man behind the curtain is a fraud.
Things couldn’t get worse for Dorothy and her friends at this point, it seems. Here they are, Dorothy, stuck in Oz, the Scarecrow, brainless, the Tin Man, heartless, the Lion, without his courage, and the Wizard, with no power to help. They went through all that for nothing. It couldn’t get much worse than that.
It’s worth asking yourself, what is your “wizard of oz”? What is the thing or who is the person you turn to for all the answers? Is it that drug you’re about to shoot or that drink you’re about to take? Is it that relationship, that leader, that consumer good, that cause that’s supposed to solve all your problems? Is your wizard of oz your therapist? If it’s any of these, have you seen the man behind the curtain, yet?
If your wizard of oz is your therapist and your therapist is me, I’ll try to do what the Wizard did. The Wizard certified the intelligence of the Scarecrow by presenting him with a diploma. He confirmed the Tin Man’s humanity by giving him a ticking heart-shaped watch. He awarded a medal to the Lion for his courage. These characters had these qualities all along. They just needed someone to say so.
The thing that saves the day for Dorothy is that, unbeknownst to her, she had possessed the Ruby Slippers: the very means by which she could return to Kansas. A few clicks of the heels and she’s back in the loving care of Auntie Em.
So, before you shoot that drug, take that drink, put up with that bad relationship, or think about what you need, take stock of what you have. You already possess the power to change.
Keith R Wilson 