Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Or Maybe Somewhere Else
Every year, just before Thanksgiving, The Wizard of Oz is broadcast on television. I watched it, again, last night. I have watched it before, many, many times. It is a great story, written by L. Frank Baum. It has stood the test of time, as a story and as a great movie. Over the Rainbow, which almost didn’t make it into the movie, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It became Judy Garland's signature song, as well as one of the most enduring ballads of all time.
I watched it with a slightly different eye this time. I began to wonder how many of us, storytellers or not, have ever felt the same as Dorothy and her three stalwart friends. I know I have.
How many times have I felt as if I didn’t have a brain? How often have I been plagued by that feeling of not knowing what to do; what direction to go? How many times have I questioned myself, not trusted my intuition, yet made a decision in the end that was the right one for me? Oh, there have been a few missteps, but for the most part, I knew what to do. I knew what I needed to do. I knew what I had to do
How often have I felt the same sorrow and loneliness of the Tin Man? Was I left out in the rain because I didn’t have a heart, or a good enough heart? If I only had that “one” special someone to love, someone who would love me back, then everything would be alright. And yet, I have had those in my life whom I have shared deeply and intimately. And although those intense relationships may have not lasted as long as I had hoped, I look back and know that I have the capacity to love and be loved. The Wizard tells the Tin Man, “Remember, my sentimental friend, that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.”
Courage! I struggle with it each day, and often doubt my ability to face the unknown. Sometimes in seemingly small ways or with small tasks, often when facing major issues or decisions. Second and third guessing is common to me. The most difficult – Do I have the courage of my convictions? Do I have the courage to do what I know is needed, even when the fear grips me like a giant vise? Somewhere inside I know that I must act. I know that not making a decision is also making a decision. And I have learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability act, even though the fear is there.
Like Dorothy, how many times have I wondered if there was a better place for me; that intangible “ideal” place. Dorothy's Aunt Em tells her to "Find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble." This prompts Dorothy to wonder, "Some place where there isn't any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rainbow…” I too have wondered and dreamed about that elusive “paradise” where everything would be alright; no struggles, no worries, everything would be perfect.
At the end of the movie, although Dorothy "seems" to be in the land of OZ, Nirvana, she just wants to "go home." Glinda, the good witch, tells her, "You always had the power. You just had to find it out for yourself." In the end, like Dorothy, somehow I keep coming back to the same realization that, “If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with.”
Who among us has not felt some of these things at some point in their life; yet also knows down deep that we have a brain, a heart, the courage, and a “home” inside of us?
As Thanksgiving approaches, we all ask ourselves, “What are we thankful for?” It’s a time when we try to focus on the good things in our lives, the people, the experiences, the parts of ourselves that make us who we are. And who we are continues to change and grow! All of who I am and experienced has helped me to be a better storyteller, a better teacher, a better coach and a better writer. And doing each of these things makes me better at all of them, and at being me, every day.
Remember, we all have abundance, both around us and inside of us.
For this, I am thankful.
- National Storytelling Network? You should be.
