You Are Already Home
Ruby slippers, an Emerald City, a girl on an adventure with four new friends, and her little dog too. These iconic symbols represent The Wizard of Oz, a movie I have loved ever since I was a little girl. At age nine, I dressed up as Dorothy for Halloween—complete with a picnic basket, a stuffed dog, and super shiny ruby slippers. Back in my day, there was no streaming (can you imagine?!) and it was broadcast on network television each year. It was a big event in my household and a special tradition I shared with my dad as we watched it together.
If you're not yet familiar with the story , a young woman growing up on a farm faces many problems, including loneliness, isolation, bullies and having to give up her beloved canine companion. During a tornado, she is hit on the head by debris and rendered unconscious. She enters a dreamscape (or is it?) where she is shown the yellow brick road that leads to help. On her way towards help she encounters new friends, faces challenges, and ultimately learns new things about herself. After traversing the haunted forest and vanquishing the wicked witch, Dorothy learns that she has always had everything she needed right at her feet.
Scared and lost, Dorothy and her friends believed that they lacked something in themselves that they desperately wanted. They were willing to endure great hardship and obstacles looking outside themselves for answers and hope. Once they arrived at their destination, the Emerald City, they encountered and dethroned the Wizard of Oz. Fighting this last illusion, they discovered the courage, heart, brains, and intuition that they were so hungrily seeking already existed within them. By looking at their past experiences they remembered the ways they already embodied the values that they longed for. It was then that they grew in confidence and peace.
As a young girl, I loved the sparkly shoes and the friendships of the movie, but what resonates with me now is this idea that we contain within ourselves everything we need. This includes the ability to listen to and understand our fears that may cover the inner resources that we can build and strengthen. As we travel closer to what we long to be, we can cultivate and nurture our strengths, and manage the obstacles and hardships that are inevitable in life—to ultimately trust that we are already and always home. Thich Nhat Hanh is known to have said, “What you are looking for is already in you, you already are everything you are seeking.”
In quiet, curious moments of stillness, we can find our own acceptance, confidence, calmness, compassion and perspective. When we travel to this place within, the chaos can fall away and we may find that we have always had the capacity to calm, encourage, and inspire ourselves.
Some Ideas to Return Home to Your Heart
Create a quiet space for yourself, comfy and away from all distractions.
Notice and jot down any thoughts or feelings you have in the quiet.
What is true for you
What are you already doing that pleases you in your life?
What do you want more of?
Make a list of the things that you value or attributes you wish to embody. Here’s a list of values to get you started.
Remember times when you already demonstrated how you have been or had those values.
Name 3 actions you can take in the next 30 days to learn more, strengthen, and practice the values you are.
If you are struggling with life and find it difficult to get to the quiet, there is hope. Please check out our blogs and books page for encouragement on your journey. I also invite you to call to learn more how therapy may help in strengthening yourself on this journey of life.
With peace on the road,
Sandra