Lessons from the Wizard of Oz

In the opening scenes of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy sees the grayness of the Kansas prairie all around her.  She knows how hard her uncle and aunt work to keep the farm prosperous and she also notices that they never laugh.  The hard life on the farm has sapped all the joy out of them. Dorothy hopes for a better life for herself and her little dog. She looks up towards the sky and sings her classic song, Somewhere over the Rainbow. A few minutes later, the storm arrives and Dorothy is sucked up into the force of the cyclone and transported from the known to the unknown.

Within minutes, Dorothy’s little house lands amidst colorful trees and dazzling plants like she had never seen before. But no matter how beautiful and enchanting the Land of Oz is, Dorothy wants to go back home. Like a wonderful and encouraging parent, Glinda the Good Witch, tells Dorothy that the Wizard of Oz will help her to get back home. She gives Dorothy a protective kiss on the forehead and tells her that no harm will come to a person who has been kissed by the Good Witch of the North.

Her belief that the Wizard is going to help her get back home is the driving force that propels Dorothy’s entire journey. Nothing dissuades her from this vision. Her first wish has come true, she is now somewhere over the rainbow and has her loving companion Toto at her side. But now she has a second wish; to see the Wizard of Oz.

When Dorothy wakes up after the cyclone has passed, her world is turned upside down. When awful or unexpected things happen in life, oftentimes we just want to go back home to the way things were before. It is basic to human nature to hold onto the things that are familiar; to embrace the known. But, sometimes life has its own agenda and causes things to happen that are beyond our control: the accident, the divorce, the illness, the economic downturn. Sometimes the things and people we have always counted on are no longer there. During these very challenging times we are left with the resources that no one can take away from us: our mind, imagination, heart, faith, dreams, hope, and perseverance.

Dorothy begins her amazing journey to Oz with the deep faith that her wish will be granted. All of the people she meets along the way assist her as she assists them. The journey to Oz is a collaborative adventure; people helping people to attain what they have always wanted most. And in this children’s classic story, the things that the characters wanted most were to maintain hope, to rekindle love and loving, to develop a compassionate and non-judgmental mind, to rediscover courage, and to keep the imagination alive.