Last evening, Gia and I watched part of one of my favorite movies, The Wizard of Oz. Encoded in this legendary “fairy-tale” are some of the greatest secrets of life.

The yellow brick road represents the path to self realization. The same path that we all take when we say “yes” to our journey. And just like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion, we meet people along the way that help us to become who we are destined to be. They show up exactly when we need them.

It’s true that in life we can’t become ourselves by ourselves; however, there is a discovery that only we can make. It happens when we find the fire or power within us.

And when we finally realize we’ve had the power all along, our world is transformed in a twinkling of an eye. For me, the best part of the Wizard of Oz is at the end when Dorothy makes the discovery for herself:

Glinda:

You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.

Dorothy:

I have?

Scarecrow:

Then why didn’t you tell her before?

Glinda:

Because she wouldn’t have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.

Tin Man:

What have you learned, Dorothy?

Dorothy:

Well, I think that it wasn’t enough just to want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. And that if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard, because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with. Is that right?

Glinda:

That’s all it is!

Scarecrow:

But that’s so easy! I should have thought of it for you.

Tin Man:

I should have felt it in my heart.

Glinda:

No. She had to find it out for herself.

You’ve always had the power to do whatever you put your mind to, be what you want, live how you’ve dreamed. You just have to remember.

And it’s in remembering, that the person you are meant to be finally awakens.