These Five Though

Remember when Dorothy and her cohorts met the real “Wizard of Oz” and they realized that the wizard was just a human being, nothing more and nothing less? I’ve been noticing this phenomenon in myself lately. Without really knowing certain people, I have either built them up, or I have torn them down with stories that I made up in my head about them. I already had made up my mind about a few people whom I had only met a handful of times. And then I spent some open-minded, inquisitive time with these people, and it’s like I am getting to know someone completely different and new. This prejudgment is not fair to others, and it’s embarrassing and sometimes a little devastating to me.

The important question which I have been asking myself, is why did I need to do this? Why did I turn certain people into characters that fit into my narratives? Did I need a supporting cast to validate my own decisions? Why do we feel the need for superheroes and villains to exist, when in real life, all of us are a big mix, in between the two extremes?

Everything you ever read about obtaining peace and serenity, comes down to accepting life on life’s terms, in the every single moment. That includes everyone in your life. In “The Wizard of Oz” it turns out that the wizard could have easily fit into Dorothy’s little gang of friends, going along the paths of their lives, utilizing their talents and accommodating their flaws. I read something recently that said what we love in others, is what we love about ourselves, and what we can’t stand about others, are traits which we wish that we could consciously see, and accept, and forgive within ourselves.

When you find yourself creating stories about the people and the events in your life, get less curious and detail oriented about the fantastical stories about others, and get more curious about your need to create the stories. What are these stories that you are creating, telling yourself about you, and your needs, and your desires, and your fears? Take other people off of their pedestals, and/or pick them out of your proverbial sewers, and get to know them with an objective, realistic, humanistic point of view. The lessons are not in the fictional sagas which we make up, but in the everyday, in-the-moment nuances found in our compassion for others, and for ourselves.

Cowardly Lion: “I have always thought myself very big and terrible; yet such small things as flowers came near to killing me, and such small animals as mice have saved my life. How strange it all is! – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Dorothy: “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? – The Wizard of Oz

Wizard of Oz: “Frightened? Child, you’re talking to a man who’s laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe… I was petrified.”

Scarecrow: “I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed.” – The Wizard of Oz

Tin Woodman (Tin man): “I shall take the heart. For brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.” – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.