Follow Our Journey !
We did it! Last Saturday night as I ended my New York City career at Carnegie Hall, Ariel and I had a commitment ceremony to transform ourselves from co-workers to fellow journeyers ! We are on countdown to our Wednesday, August 31st departure, with Ariel at the wheel of a Uhaul taking me, my two cats and household to Asheville, North Carolina.
For Ariel it will be an adventure to set off on a Southern road journey to an unknown place. For me, a leap to a new life with none of the normal anchors in place (i.e. permanent home, income source, proven friends – yikes!). In essence I am laying down my own yellow brick road as I search for a new home. To support this undertaking I’ll be creating my own sort of anchor and practicing my own kind of therapy by posting regularly about the journey on my ‘Taking A Leap’ blog.
(FYI - When I google for the meaning of ‘the yellow brick road’ I get this:
A course of action that a person takes believing that it will lead to good things. It comes from the Yellow Brick Road in The Wizard of Oz which Dorothy and her friends follow to the Emerald City. )
Dorothy is my girl ! She’s the guiding light for this journey. In the ‘60s, when I was a shy little black girl living with a family of five in a small two bedroom at 1039 E. 80th Street in Chicago, the annual TV screening of The Wizard Of Oz was a big event ! My family still had a black and white TV then, so I didn’t get the full (colorful) glory of THE WIZARD OF OZ until years later. But even in black and white, what a glorious relief it was from watching peaceful civil rights protesters being hunted by dogs and battered by clubs ! Dorothy was my first hero, one who has stayed with me into my 60s ! I have always wanted to be like Dorothy.
Why?
Dorothy shows how an ordinary girl can be extraordinary! If you’ve seen The Wizard Of Oz, I hope I’ll inspire you to watch it again for all you didn’t see. And if you haven’t seen it – well now you must!
1. When a tornado throws Dorothy into the foreign land of Oz, followed by confusing obstacles and outright attacks as she tries to find the Emerald City where the Wiz can tell her how to get back home --- she is so Zen about it! She’s of course upset at first and shows it all --- fears, insecurities, loneliness, helplessness, anger. But Dorothy doesn’t spend time fretting and moaning and replaying bad moments to prove the world is against her ! Instead she jumps up and puts all her energy towards figuring out what to do to get home.
2. Dorothy is white but not afraid of people different from her, or the strange creatures, and situations she encounters. She trusts her senses, intellect, and intuition enough to figure out what can truly hurt her and then to defend herself.
3. Dorothy doesn’t hesitate to ask questions or share her own ideas, and is quick to praise others. She finds friends wherever she goes and is not afraid to stand up to adults (a.k.a. authority figures and those bigger than you).
4. The fact that no one seems to know how to get to the Emerald City doesn’t unnerve her; Dorothy just keeps asking and searching.
5. Dorothy kills two witches and doesn’t brag about it. She knows that life is working with her; she is blessed.
I hope I inspire you to turn back to your own fictional hero from your youth and revisit them with a newly alert mind as to what their coping behaviors taught you. As adults we can all benefit from refresher courses.
My Next Post: ‘I Am Blessed’: The Importance of Self-Hypnosis For Coping