All paths lead to Kansas

I wanted to use today's blog as a source of encouragement to those who feel like they are lost and can't seem to see the end on the horizon.

Strange way of looking at it, but I want to draw you to the story of "Wizard of Oz".  In a nutshell young orphan Dorothy was living her life in Kansas with her dog Toto as her soul source of happiness, until a tornado sweeps her home away, sending her to Munchkin City.  After a few twists and turn which involve a certain Good Witch and a pair of shoes, the story then revolves around Dorthoy's journey to find the Emerald City. Through this journey she meets three very pivotal characters (Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion) and along with them, overcomes various trials and tribulatons involving a certain Wicked Witch.....

Anyway.... in the end she finds her way home and lives happily ever after!

So to my point.....

We go through a similar process in life.  We are travelling through our everyday life, placing ourselves in situations and positions which provide us with comfort and happiness. Then a sequence of events seems to take us away from our 'home' and place us in an unknown place.  From there we spend a season (or more - possibily our whole lives) trying to find our way back.  We expect it to be panned out for us or.... like we can simply click our heels and we are there.

As awesome and magical as it would be to click our heels and be out of our rut, it doesn't always pan out like that.  Like Dorothy, sometimes we need to meet people along the way to encourage or guide us, or to be placed in situations where we need to learn about becoming more resilient.  I actually love the analogy behind Dorothy's journey and how meeting those three characters can connect to our own life journey.  When we are thrown into turmoil, we have to salvage three things that we have lost: our logic and mindset (Scarecrow), our heart (Tin Man) and our courage (Lion).  We gather these through meeting people or the connections we develop through those who are already in our lives.

One other analogy I want to point out to you is how the concept of 'vision' is used.  Dorothy has a vision of where she wants to go and through that vision she is given a direction.  It's that vision that keeps her focused no matter how difficult the journey home has become for her. To me the line, "there's no place like home," comes across as her way of voicing her vision to give it a stronger sense of reality.  So in your own turmoils, speak out and picture a vision of what you want.  Pray for it..... seek it..... and remain focused on it.  Make it your default setting every time you fall into trouble.  You've got this.... so stay strong like the beautiful Dorothy did and before you know it you'll be back in your Kansas!