Why ‘Live Your Yellow Brick Road’?
When I was choosing a name to document my current journey, I wanted something that represented life’s journey. I had several ideas in mind and felt ‘Yellow Brick Road’ resonated most. Of course availability of domain names was certainly a factor.
I knew using ‘Live Your Yellow Brick Road’ could have the potential of not being understood globally and could be interpreted differently from one person to another. As my interpretation of ‘Live Your Yellow Brick Road’ continued to resonate with the ideas in my head, I felt was the best choice, regardless.
It became especially apparent when travelling throughout Southeast Asia, that many have not heard of the Wizard of Oz or know the story and characters behind it. Given this, I thought it would be a good time to take a moment to explain why, ‘Live Your Yellow Brick Road’.
When I think about the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz , in my mind:
It’s about one’s path and journey in life.
It’s about following your path.
It’s about having the courage and heart to do so.
It’s about the learnings along your journey.
It’s about accepting yourself as you are.
It’s about discovering you have all you need within you and much more.
It’s an understanding that everyone one of us has our own Yellow Brick Road to follow.
Now, it’s one thing for me to have my interpretation. It had been a long time since I watched the Wizard of Oz, so I thought it best to ‘sense’ check my interpretations and to view what others could be out there. I thought it a good idea to ensure/reassure that my recollections of the movie were still valid.
For those not familiar, there is a fictional book series by L. Frank Baum, the first published in 1900 titled ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’. [Baum’s ‘Oz’ sequels were published between 1900 and 1913].
The Yellow Brick Road was first brought to life in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland as Dorothy. Dorothy and her friends follow the yellow brick road to find they had what they had been looking for all along.
You can find a short history regarding the books and movies on this site: http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Yellow_Brick_Road.
At some point, I recalled reading that there may be ‘political’ meanings behind Baum’s Oz story, so I dug a little further and found this article which talks about the possible political views and representations of Baum’s work. http://www.offthegridnews.com/misc/following-the-yellow-brick-road-the-real-story-behind-‘the-wizard-of-oz’/
Those views were interesting, but that of course was not at all what I had in mind regarding my interpretation for ‘Live Your Yellow Brick Road’. If you read toward the end of this article, this writer does however note:
The Wizard of Oz also functions as a spiritual allegory, showing people how they can make miracles happen in even the most difficult of circumstances just by relying on the natural gifts they have been given by God. The characters in the book found the answers they were seeking only when they turned inward and stopped looking for someone to tell them what to do, and the lesson they learned is that the power to re-shape their realities and transform their lives had been lying dormant inside of them all along.
Well that’s more like it, and inline with my thoughts.
In my brief words above, I highlighted the reason and meaning as to why I chose the name ‘Live Your Yellow Brick Road’ to share my journeys with you.
Additionally, I found a well written opinion which articulates in words, my deeper thoughts on my interpretation and why I chose ‘Live Your Yellow Brick Road’.
I share it with you below, as it was written by Debra Taitel on the Daily Muse. I could not have expressed it better myself and it’s as if she wrote this for me.
“To ‘know Thyself’ is considered quite an accomplishment.”
As a soul each of us has a purpose and our very own yellow brick road. The road I speak of is not a myth, story or movie yet not unlike the Wizard of Oz, it is the path we walk on this journey we call life.
The path we walk is filled with joyful experiences, challenges, forks in the road and occasional road blocks to help us gain experience. It is the journey of a lifetime! Road blocks, challenges and forks in the road are there to help us heal and come back to ourselves and the path we chose before we took this human body.
We are bound to meet untruths that are deeply hidden within our psyche and some of these we falsely believe to be our own truth. One of the biggest challenges is to find out which of our “beliefs” is really our truth or someone else’s. It is what we believe to be true about ourselves which causes us to make a mountain out of a small stepping stone. To help you uncover the false beliefs you hold imagine if the scarecrow, tin-man and lion are inside of and a part of you.
You will run into these characters often as you skip down your yellow brick road and you may have noticed that every time you do, you momentarily stop your journey. The scarecrow represents your thoughts and intellect. The tin-man represents your identity and self-worth; And the lion represents your empowered self. The part of you that is certain, brave and courageous.
The Scarecrow (Thoughts and intellect)
“The Scarecrow watched the Woodman while he worked and said to him “I cannot think why this wall is here nor what it is made of.” “Rest you brains and do not worry about the wall,” replied the Woodman, “when we have climbed over it we shall know what is on the other side.”
~ L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Think about this character for a moment. He spent his whole life “thinking” he didn’t have a brain and wasn’t smart. He believed this so strongly it became his truth when in reality, it was someone else who once told him he wasn’t smart enough to do anything but scare away crows from the field. What beliefs do you hold that have kept you stuck in the corn field? Did someone once tell you, you weren’t smart enough or your grades weren’t good enough to carry out and fulfill your dreams? The thing I love about the scarecrow is that he stopped “thinking” and just started walking down the yellow brick road with Dorothy.
He used his intuition to walk beside her with the faith and knowledge that he would find what he was seeking which, in the end, he discovered was already there. What “thoughts” of doubt creep in while you are walking your path? Do you over analyze everything? Are you seeking something which you already have or did someone once rain on your parade and tell you, you weren’t smart enough to accomplish your goals?
The Tin-Man (Identity and self-worth)
No, my head is quite empty,” answered the Woodman; “but once I had brains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, I should much rather have a heart.”
~L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
How passionate the Tin-man for wanting a heart! Perhaps he believed he didn’t have one because he felt unworthy because he hadn’t done enough good deeds. Many believe they are un-lovable or at some level feel unworthy. They have difficulty loving themselves or lack passion because they are not recognized or identify self-worth with being loved by another.
What do you believe about yourself? Do you love yourself and all that you are? Do you identify with someone else’s picture of what love is or think you don’t have love all around you and inside you? Your ability to love and your self-worth is not defined by your good deeds or giving to others although it’s very noble to do so.
Sometimes the best thing to do is empty your head and allow the love in your heart to grow and grow until it surrounds you like a bubble. What you believe about yourself is what you show others unconsciously. If your belief is that you are separate, you will be separate. If you believe you are not worthy until…(you do this or that) you will spend a lifetime identifying with a very false belief. If you are seeking to find love outside of you, look inside first!
The Lion (Your empowered self)
“True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid…”
~L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Everyone encounters fear on their journey but when you truly believe in yourself and face your fears you have courage and bravery to move past them. You are stronger than you think! If you believe you will be defeated you certainly will be!
If you let fear of failing in the past take over, you’ve just given over all your personal power to the fear. Fear is very real but how much of that fear is based in reality?
Are you still afraid to ride a bike because when you first took off the training wheels you fell down and scraped your knee? No! You got back on that bike and continued riding down the road. Each time you face your fears and get back on the bike, so to speak, you empower yourself more and more.
The path to self empowerment is to face your fears and obstacles and overcome them. Do not believe the voice in your head that says you are not strong enough, brave enough or courageous enough for that is the fear speaking. What you believe about your strength is what you give strength to!
Smoothly following your yellow brick road is as much about about knowing yourself and where your beliefs come from as walking the path. What you encounter on your path as an obstacle is something to help you learn more about yourself and just like in the Wizard of Oz you will find that what you thought you didn’t have is already there inside you! Happy Trails!~Shine Your Light
Debbie
©Debra Taitel 2013 All Rights Reserved SpiritLightInsight.com Daily Muse Home Page
https://dailymuse.spiritlightinsight.com/2013/07/26/how-to-follow-your-yellow-brick-road.
So, are YOU living Your Yellow Brick Road?
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Happy journeys,
Joanne
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