As I was planning my most recent talk about developing one’s originality, in looking for a proper colorful metaphor, I started re-thinking my memories of The Wizard of Oz.
While this is normally thought of as a children’s movie, it really is a marvelous bit of mythology that reflects some great truths of life.
The story features a farm girl who is beset by a wicked witch of immense power. With nothing but a pair of used shoes, she sets out on a long journey, where she meets characters who are seeking brains, heart, and courage. They all put great faith in a great wizard in a far off land to fulfill their desires.
As it turns out, the horrific nasty witch is not so powerful– she is destroyed by a cup of tap water. And the great wizard, it turns out, is a carnival huckster. Dorothy’s friends, it turns out, already had brains, heart, and courage. And Dorothy always had the power within herself to achieve her greatest desire.
Lesson taken from this is, the process of growing up requires not just facing your fears, but also facing this great disappointment: that these distant powerful beneficent institutions and creatures are really just childhood fantasies. The witches are all bluff and smoke, and even more important, the wizards are no more clever or powerful than yourself.
It is that understanding– that one’s fears are seldom as great as one imagines, AND that these distant grandiose entities are really no better able to solve problems than you . . . that are so much a part of facing life and growing up.
I always hated it when the good witch told Dorothy she always had the power, but now I get it– Dorothy had to free herself from these false imaginings that had limited her belief in herself. That’s the real point of the story.
Such doings from the land of Oz are not so far distant. Everywhere you look there are people claiming to be wizards, able to better solve your problems. The subtle shaming of your own small and meek problem-solving abilities is key to their overall business model. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."
It’s a bit of a disappointment to find out that witches and wizards do not exist, but recognizing that your made-of-straw brain is as good as it gets is an essential part of growing up and being empowered to run your own life.
You are the one wearing the ruby slippers.
© Justin Locke
PS by the way I am on twitter now: @justinlocke
what happens next i have no clue.
