Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Why Wizard of Oz?

People often ask me about the choice to utilize characters from the Wizard of Oz. They wonder what a children’s story has to do with fashion or style. People are curious about what were we thinking. I have never thought of the Wizard of Oz as a children’s story or a simple book. I see it is an incredible story of survival, self discovery and courage. I find the book to be much more inspiring than the movie. In the book Dorothy is a small child and is faced with an incredible journey. What I found amazing is that often in life if we think about a circumstance we may say “oh I have no clue how I would survive”. Once you are in a negative circumstance you get to see what you are made of and that sometimes when we are faced with a mountain we can climb it with no problems.

Dorothy faces so many dangerous situations and sails through them all with the help of guiding forces. During the course of her journey she sees that the obstacles are nothing compared to the outcome. When you really want something you should pursue it with a fervor and passion that may seem almost unreasonable to others. You have to be so focused on your desired outcome that the obstacles seem small.

Glinda the Good Witch of the North personified the “hands off” approach of learning. She sent Dorothy on her trip seemingly alone. Unbeknownst to Dorothy she was under Glinda’s watchful gaze all the while. Glinda knew that it was imperative for Dorothy to go down her own path of survival, self discovery and courage. As Glinda said about Dorothy, “she had to learn for herself”. Glinda knew Dorothy had everything she needed inside of her. Dorothy just needed to see that she had the power all along.

Too often you see makeover shows they throw someone in a dress, slap on some makeup and declare success. I guarantee you that if you checked in with any of those people 6 months down the road they are right back to where they started. In order for change to stick and be real you have to get to the source. You have to discover for yourself why you make the choices that you do and decide that you want to change.

Glinda knew that experiences are what breeds self-reliance. Glinda was imbued with the wisdom of the ages and could have simply sent Dorothy home but Glinda knew that the journey was more important than any quick fix. As Glinda said about Dorothy “she had to learn for herself”. Glinda knew that Dorothy had an immense amount of personal power and had she simply sent her home Dorothy would have never discovered who she was and what she was capable of. After failing to find a way out of the Land of Oz Dorothy finally breaks down and asks who could possible help her, this is when she journeys to Glinda. Glinda provides her with the how to return to her own land. She never accompanies her on her journey, she simply promises to keep her safe and sends her on her way.

This is the promise that I provide to you. Glinda told Dorothy “You must walk. It is a long journey, through a country that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes dark and terrible. However, I will use all the magic arts I know of to keep you from harm.” This program will walk you through some things that may be scary but you will come out the other side changed and renewed. You will see your strength. You will know that you are in control.

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