Lions, Tigers and Trolls

There's no place like home.  I love watching movies with my kid.

At 5 she still loves ninja turtles, Smurfs, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Wizard of Oz.  She's at that age where she watches way too much Nickelodeon and kids are into a few things and they'll watch movies over and over and over again. When I was a kid we had VHS (and it took minutes to rewind the tape).  Now she just turns the DVR back and within a click, she's got whatever she wants to watch (or re watch).

Frank Baum' s The Wizard of Oz is a classic.  It's one of the most written about movies and has so many different hidden meanings. The movie and book are so popular that the screenplay and broadway show, "Wicked" launched years back.

I have my own view of the story.

Dorothy was in the process of running away from home when a storm swept her up and landed her in a magical place that was to teach her a lesson about her own strength.

So as the story goes, she crash lands in Oz killing a witch who was creating havoc for the munchkins.   To find her way home back to Kansas, she sets on a path (a golden one) that takes her to see the all-powerful Wizard for help.  Glenda the Good Witch gives her the gift of these special shoes to help guide her way.

So Dorothy sets out.

What I find so interesting about this story is how all the women seem to have the power and the men seemingly lack (a lot).  Even the Wicked Witch and Glenda the Good Witch have more power than any other characters.

Along her way, Dorothy encounters a barely put together scarecrow, a tin-man who lacks a heart and a ninny lion who looks tough but is so far from it!   She agrees to take them with her to see the all-powerful Oz.  Upon explaining her plight, Oz tells her to kill the other bad witch and bring her broomstick to prove she's worth Oz's help.  (Does THIS sound familiar?  Another post another day. )  And when she succeeds in the most sensible way (it wasn't rocket science how she killed the witch), she heads back to Emerald City to hand over the broom and finds out that Oz is a BIG scam.

Glenda the good witch then teaches her she always had the power to go home.  She just needed to tap her inner self (the slippers) to use that power. Dorothy is actually seen as a hero in Oz because she used the most important power of all: true self confidence.  But she had to learn the hard way that she always had that power.

There was a time like Dorothy, I found myself running away.  Despite having a successful career and overcoming my own health issues,  I was drawn to do more.  But I was scared.  Until one day a few very close friends told me to go build my Emerald City.

So I did.

And my journey since has been amazing. I've been blessed and fortunate to have a great circle of close friends, family, supporters, believers, and clients. (Thank you, you are all special people!)

Putting yourself out there isn't easy.  It's hard!

But we're all on a road in search of meaning, purpose, and things bigger than us. And like Dorothy's, our journey can be marred with unusual experiences and people to test our courage and self worth.  We can walk a path feeling unsure or even downright scared.  In the end, though I'm here to tell you your ideas and the risks are worth it.  It's YOUR yellow brick road.  YOUR journey. YOUR rainbow.  YOUR pot of gold.  YOUR city to build.

Lions, tigers and trolls will never replace what you have: true self confidence.

Just keep calm and don't feed the troll. But can I suggest a little cold water?