There's No Place Like Home (Wizard of Oz Pt. 2)

 There's No Place Like Home. (2nd Installment)

Dorothy Meets the Scarecrow...

(Highly recommended you read the 1st installment--- here)

There are moments during Dorothy’s journey where she finds herself walking or skipping along the wide winding road laden with bright yellow bricks of promise without issues. Her journey is a peaceful one with Toto (her little dog), scampering at her feet. And yet, just as the moment where comfort outweighs her fear, she comes upon a fork in the road. Undecided on which way to go she talks to herself out loud, and that's when she's startled by a talking scarecrow in a field of corn. The Scarecrow tries to direct her the best way he knows how, but in the end comes off as confused. However, Dorothy listens to his story, and shows empathy for him by bending the nail down on which he is hung and frees him from his paltry existence. The Scarecrow asks if he can join her on her journey to see the Wizard, his hopes pinned on the idea that the wizard might give him some brains. It’s the perfect situation which allows her to express her compassion for something unlike herself. She tells him that she has a wicked witch after her and shows concern for his safety but when he tells her he’s determined to go with her, she agrees to his joining her and Toto’s journey to Emerald City.

I believe miracles show up in all different ways. Now, I’m not saying on your journey down your ‘yellow brick road’ you’ll come across a talking scarecrow that only wants a brain, I believe in a lot of things deemed miracles, but that ain’t one of them. What I am saying is, you may come across someone during your life's journey that may need your help, or need your attention, or someone who may not be as fortunate as you. It's wise for you to remember, it isn’t the work of your hands that makes you memorable, but how wide you open your heart.

Like the scarecrow, there will be people in our lives who feel dumb, they believe or have been told they aren’t worthy, or they’re stupid and have no business doing what they are doing in life. It’s a sad fact in which the words flung upon the young and innocent leave the deepest wounds. For all I know you could be reading this and blurt out, “Gretchen, Oh.My.God, I’m the scarecrow!”

But let’s make something clear, something we should all be aware of … people come into our lives for a reason … PERIOD. Sometimes they are fleeting, sometimes they come in and stay for a short blip of time, and sometimes we meet people and they’re in our lives up until we take our last breath. It’s my belief that everyone’s brilliant and life affirming and intelligent with a special place in this universe. I know, I know, we’re all measured to a standard that for some is unobtainable, but let me say this, some people are book smart, while others are street wise, some may have mastered how to run a household, while others are better building things with their hands, but the fact of the matter is, we each have something to contribute to the betterment of this world. Each and every one of us possess this capability; it’s just that we’ve lost our confidence along the way. As a society, we’ve lost the ability to connect with the potential which resides deep within each and every one of us. We’ve been told not to be vulnerable, or show weakness, we’ve been told we shouldn’t be too confident, or come across arrogant. We’ve been “shoulded” on our entire lives! 

It's time to STOP “Shoulding” on yourself and others. It’s vital when people come into our lives to remind them of how brilliant, loving, dynamic, joyous, and smart they truly are. It’s imperative that we keep reminding ourselves of how brilliant, loving, dynamic, joyous and smart we are too. Dorothy, never once agrees with the scarecrow! She heard his woes-me story, gave him her ear to listen , and then when he invited himself into her journey, she agreed to his company, wholeheartedly.

Every answer to every question we’ve ever had lies deep within us. Either we’ve never been told about our potential or or we keep forgetting about it because we are constantly bombarded with definitions and phrases that convince us or train us to believe we are limited, less than, or weak. When Dorothy asked the scarecrow questions he answered, when she couldn’t free him from the post he was nailed upon, he told her what to do. Maybe it’s the simple fact that we’ve never been taught how to stop and listen, or we merely forgot the mechanics of becoming still and knowing. Self confidence, inner peace, love, harmony, and personal strength can’t happen so long as we keep building soundproof walls that continue to isolate us in a self-induced prison of shame, guilt and blame.    

Why do we look upon the less fortunate as “less than”? Who wouldn’t fall in love with a singing scarecrow without a brain? Why must we define others by what they don’t have or what they are lacking in their lives? When our actions speak louder than our words we will truly understand the dynamics of reaping what we sow. When we celebrate the strength in those around us, we are uplifted in our own lives. Dorothy’s heart was large, bigger than those whom she met, and yet never once did she make anyone feel inadequate.

You see, even though the scarecrow thought he didn’t have a brain, he sang about all the things he’d do if he had a brain. The scarecrow had his entire existence all “plotted” out if he ever “got himself some brains”. What he didn’t realize was he already possessed the abilities he sung about. He had within him the potential to do everything he wanted, if he’d let go of the idea that he wasn’t smart enough. Could it be that we too, have our own ideas of what we need or should be in order to be, successful, happy, healthy, loving, abundant, and joyous? We, like the scarecrow believe we don’t possess the potential to be greater than we are right now. Doubt aside, how often have we talked ourselves out of something because we believed we weren’t worthy enough, strong enough, intelligent enough? If we keep following the same patterns that got us to where we are, we’ll never embody our true potential.

It’s time to bend the nail that pins us to the post of our past beliefs and slide off the splintered beam that keeps us bound to our old ideas of who we used to be. Stand with those people who believe we possess the capability to be whatever our heart’s desire.

You and only you know what’s right for your life. You may start your journey heading one way on the, ‘yellow brick road’ and find it’s not the right path. That’s okay, because at least you’re starting to recognize what you want and what you don’t want. You’re beginning to live life consciously! Strengthen those legs you thought weren’t strong enough to carry you through, start believing that within you lies infinite possibilities in which you have an all access pass dangling from a lanyard for all to see. You are the believer that creates the beliefs in your life. You have the ability to change your mind and dance on the ‘yellow brick road’ of your journey.

It’s your life,and your opportunity to be anything you want to be. When you stop allowing others to define who you are and what they think you should be, you begin to embody your true potentiality. When you discover the limiting ideas, which have been seared across your brain are nothing more than a false belief you’ve unknowingly allowed to be planted there, you can begin to uproot them, weed them and replace them with the fruit producing positive ideas that strengthen who you are.

Dorothy never once believed what the scarecrow told her about his plight of being brainless. She heard him out, disclosed to him the struggles he may encounter if he went with her, and then let him decide for himself if he was going to join her or not. It’s time to have someone in your corner believing in you, telling you, you can do whatever you set your mind to; it won’t be the easiest thing you’ll ever do, but what’s gained if nothing is tried? You can climb back up on that rusty ol’ nail and hang from that splintered post, or you can tread along the ‘yellow brick road’ of your existence and see what happens. The choice is yours.   

Thanks for hanging out and reading my ramblings. 

***Stay tuned for the 3rd installment when Dorothy meets the Tin Man.

Is It Time To Make A Shift?

What makes one day amazing and another disastrous? What creates the wonders of some moments and the fear, doubt and anger of the next? 

It is our reaction to situations. We are creatures floating in old belief systems, traditions, and idioms that we give our power over to, and it is time to stop!

Humans are individual expressions of Universal Truth, placed upon this earth to experience life. Why do you think we are the only living things that are given volition? We are the only living organisms that have the ability to choose consciously. How amazing is that? There is a power out there, pushing, flowing, and drowning us in the possibility and ability to make choices; good, bad or indifferent…we have the ability to change our minds, and in turn, create a shift in our consciousness, which produces an outcome in our physical environment. Think about that…We are born with the ability to think, mentally process, and communicate not only our needs, but our opinions, our beliefs, and our desires. That right there is a miracle. Not many other living creatures have the conscious awareness to make up their minds, choose, and deduce outcomes purely from their thoughts.

But even more incredible we have the ability to override our intuition. We have the choice to listen or not to that intuitive voice in our heads. And right there is the point of where we as individuals choose how to live our lives. We can keep falling victim to fear, doubt and anger, or we can make the conscious choice to think ourselves into a better life.

Yeah, I just saw you roll your eyes…but hear me out! It is all based in scientific principle; or what I like to call Cause and Effect. It has proven time and time again that people can control their experiences by merely changing how they react to the events happening around them in their lives. When we change our outlook or belief about a situation or event, that event or situation must change.

One of the most defining, and definite statements in the Bible is, “It is done unto you as you believe.” It doesn’t say it is done unto you as someone else sees it, or as someone else wants you to see it.

Our life is nothing more than what we keep thinking into it. It is an individual responsibility that you can either live life as a victim or an empowered individual. You don’t like your life or the experience you are having…change the way you are seeing it. Stop reacting from fear and hate, and begin to react from that deep seeded love, harmony and peace. Nobody is making you react to your life, but you! We all have met an Eeyore or two in our lives. You know the people who never catch a break, who never see the forest through the trees, who, if lightning was going to strike they would be the one it would hit. Trust me the world has enough Eeyores!

One of the brightest minds to grace the earth, Albert Einstein was quoted as saying, “You can’t fix a problem, using the same mind that created it.” How profound is that? We can’t change a situation that keeps happening if we keep looking at it the same way we’ve always looked at it. We must change our idea about it, in order to change the outcome. No matter how hard we keep forcing that square peg in that round hole it’s not going to fit until we either change the peg or find a square hole.

Instead of resisting change, begin to embrace it. Instead of looking at a situation from fear and doubt…find a way to come from peace and love. Try and see the good in every situation in your life. Start seeing all the things to be grateful in your life and focus on that. I promise your conversations will begin to change, your environment will change, and you’ll start seeing your life change to something better you had yesterday. Trust me it isn’t easy at first. If it was easy we wouldn’t be experiencing any destruction, disease, and disrespect in this world. But if we just start today, just start in our own lives, seeing the potential, love, peace, and harmony that exists in our lives, no matter how small a spark it seems to be, our lives will change dramatically for the good. 

Okay, enough of my ramblings. I want to leave you with one last statement to think about. Ready? What you think about today creates your tomorrow. What are you thinking about that you want to experience tomorrow?

Thanks for hanging out and reading my ramblings!

What is Our Purpose?

What is our purpose? Why are we doing…what it is that we’re doing? Is it a burning passion, a deep seeded obsession, maybe it’s a gripping vice, or as simple as a convenient habit? I’m not talking about what we do for a living, our jobs or hobbies…I’m talking about that unwavering intention we can’t seem to shake from our souls. No matter what happens around us, we can’t stop thinking about it; we can’t stop feeling the need to move toward the light of its discovery.

Whether it’s painting, writing, raising our children, or feeding the hungry, what motivates us to drag our battered bones across the finish line? Is it self-preservation or just plain ego? Or does it even matter?

We all come into this world as intention that grows within the womb of possibility. We are the ones that think the thoughts that birth the realities within our lives. It’s our swirling ideas that we allow to setup shop in our consciousness that creates our heavenly or hellish experience. It is the stories we cling to until our knuckles turn white or the superstitions we embody in order to keep people from knowing who we truly are, that create our bondage.

More times than not we’ve twisted conversations into “poor me-s” and “look at how bad I have it-s” in order to feel important, accepted, or empowered. We lost sight of our purpose before we even had a chance to realize we had the power to discover what our purpose was.

How fast the world would change if we came from the unconditional love within our hearts and true forgiveness when someone has forsaken us. Let’s face it, in order to love the world we must first love our place in it. We can’t embody peace if we are always walking around pissed off at the cat for scratching the couch or the kids for spilling red sport drinks on the cream carpet. We can’t come from happiness if we keep posting on the internet about someone who has hurt us. What stories are we fostering? What words and thoughts are we using to create our realities?

You see…in order for us to truly be free in this world, we must learn to live in freedom. In order to feel love we must come from love. We want closer friendships, so we must begin by being a close friend. Open our hearts and feel the greatness within every person we come across. If we need to change our financial situation—start by giving. Prosperity begets prosperous actions. Give first and all else shall be add upon you. Ask and you will receive, Seek and you shall find, knock and the door will opened.

The Universe is reciprocal; we see it in nature; the changing seasons, the rotation of the planets, and the life cycles of all living things. What goes around comes around in every aspect of existence. Whether we are talking man made experiences or natural phenomenon, life always finds a way to constantly produce. Purpose is the driving force in nature and everything has a purpose.

When we realize that there is something creative within us waiting for our discovery of it, life opens up and shows us the way. Unfortunately, most of us are too busy living in fear and listening to self-judgment. We are too caught up in believing we aren’t worthy or good enough. But once we move from that place of race consciousness or worldly beliefs, and we take a moment to silence our minds, we will realize our purpose has always been waiting patiently to be discovered.

Thanks for reading my ramblings…I am truly grateful for your visit!

Trust Yourself

It's not the monstrous waves of disappointment that keep crashing relentlessly against the jagged edges of our lives that determine which story we'll cling to for rectitude; it’s the momentary flashes of calm in between.

How often do we struggle and gasp for air as the titanic wave of fear and pain crash upon us? Where has it been determined that drowning in everyone else’s expectations is righteous? Please show me where it’s acceptable to live our lives clinging to the rocky cliffs of the well intentioned.

When will we truly let go and trust the tides and swells of our own magnitude? It’s in our nature to be submerged in peace and love not anger and hate. The day we decide to hurl ourselves off the cliff riddled with blame and hate and dive into the refreshing weightless pool of responsibility and respect our lives will change. We will begin to swim in the limitless ocean of creative discovery. We will float in an endless sea of unlimited potential. Our lives will mirror the magnificent ideas and affirmative thoughts that pour from our minds.

It first starts with trust. Trust in yourself; trust in a power greater than you are. Trust in the idea that you deserve the best that life has to offer. Eventually that trust grows into Faith and in your Faith you will see a real change occur. Faith in something greater than your limited ideas of yourself; in the untapped potential you haven’t even seen yet. Faith is when you believe in something you can’t see, but you know exists.

For example, we can’t see love; it is invisible, yet very real. We experience the residual effect of love all the time, but we can’t see the cause of it; we just know it exists through feelings and experiences. The same thing with Peace, Joy and Abundance; they aren’t tangible material things and yet we ache to have them.

Peace, Love, Joy and Abundance are all states of being and in order to want them, we must have experienced them at one time or another. If we never experienced them, we wouldn’t even know they existed. But fortunately we know the Truth. It is in our nature to Love and it is in our nature to live in Peace. When we come from Unconditional Love and Complete Peace the Universe can’t help but say yes to us.

My your day be filled with so much Love it radiates from every cell of your body and may Peace permeate every place you go~ Thanks for checking out my blog and reading my ramblings!