The Wizard of Oz – More Than A Children’s Story

“You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking.” – The Wizard of Oz

The first Wizard I ever heard about was Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz characterized in the Warner Brother’s movie of the same name.And he turned out to be a rather disappointing fellow to a little girl of 5 or 6.And he wasn’t very magical. I expected to see a magnificent powerful amazing Wizard and never did – or so I thought.

Early in the movie, Dorothy gets caught in a tornado.Her life is literally flying by her spinning out of control.Debris hits her head and renders her unconscious.When she awakens, Dorothy realizes that she’s not in “Kansas” anymore. Nothing is recognizable and she feels far far far away from home – her comfort zone. Dorothy was now lost and wanted to go back ‘home’.

However, Dorothy will never return home – to that old familiar comfort zone – again as the same person she was before. Little does she know that she is about to embark on a journey of empowerment and enlightenment.

The journey begins with an inspiration, in the form of Glinda the Good Witch. Glinda tells Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to see the Wizard of Oz who will help her find home.So, Dorothy sets out on this yellow brick road with all of its twists and turns.

Along the way she meets some characters:

The Tin Man who wanted a heart.
The Scarecrow who longed for a brain.
The Cowardly Lion who prayed for courage.

Through many trials and tribulations, the finally arrive at Oz. They nervously present themselves in front of this larger than life, bellowing and scary force that they assume is the great and powerful Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard tells Dorothy and her friends that they have to prove themselves – bring back the Wicked Witch of the West’s broom – before he will grant them their wish.

Are you kidding me!They travel all this way, endure hardship, only to be told that they have to go back and prove themselves!?Now I was really upset.I was not liking this movie one bit.

What I didn’t see through my young eyes at the time was that the Wizard of Oz was telling them they had to tap into their inner strength, their own personal power and exhibit great personal courage in order to turn their dreams into reality. When you discover how much power you really have you can learn how to use it to create whatever it is you want.

So, Dorothy and her friends find the Wicked Witch, battle her and her army of flying monkeys and return to Oz with the broom. Hooray! Now I get to see the Wizard magically grant them their wishes.

I held my breath in anticipation and watched as the group nervously presented themselves in front of the great and powerful Wizard of Oz once again.The Wizard seemed to be even more magical – electrified – immense! Toto, Dorothy’s little dog, freaks out and leaps from her arms.He runs over to a curtain off to the side, pulls it back to reveal an old man.Uh?What’s up with that?!

This fuddy duddy of an old man was hiding behind this curtain pulling switches to create the illusion of a great and powerful Wizard of Oz. This magical force that I was witnessing, this Wizard of Oz, was quite literally smoke and mirrors.

Say, what!You’ve got to be kidding me!I wanted to throw my rag doll at the TV.I was expecting something awesome and here was Grandpa!

I was really beginning to hate this movie.

To my further disbelief, the old guy tells Dorothy and her friends that he doesn’t have anything for them.What they wanted was already within them. Say what!?

Yes, Dorothy and her friends came all the way down the yellow brick road to get what they dreamed of only to realize they had what they wanted within them all the time. They didn’t need the Wizard of Oz, or anyone else, to give them want they thought they didn’t have in life.

I didn’t understand that powerful lesson at that very young age. As an adult, I’ve learned that everything I need to be, do and have what I want is already within me.All I have to do is connect with my own Inner Wizard.He isn’t somewhere over the rainbow. He’s right here with me, and has been here all along.

Now that I ‘get it’, the Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies.I encourage parents to watch it with their children to help them learn early on in life that they already have the power within them to create their desires.I also encourage adults to watch the movie with this new perspective.You’ll be amazed at the valuable lessons the movie teaches that you might have missed when you first saw it as a child.And it’s fun to watch!!!

If you’re looking for a “man behind the iron curtain” to solve your personal or professional problems look no more.The answers aren’t outside of you.You know a lot more than you think you do.Just take a deep breath, step into your personal power – your ruby slippers – and ask.Ask your Inner Wizard for guidance and he will lead you in the right direction.Your own path, yellow brick road, to self-confidence, purpose and authenticity where you can absolutely turn your dreams into reality!