Finding Oz.
You only choose three things in life.
There are good things that are easy.
There are good things that are hard.
There are bad things that are easy.
We can watch stand-up comedy or work overtime to save for vacation without a problem.
But, I bet you struggle with bad things you wish you didn’t do.
Eating your feelings.
Spending more nights on the couch than you’d like.
Getting back with the same person over and over, hoping for something different.
Ruminating on an argument that can’t be fixed, living in a past that we lost.
We want to love ourselves, but we isolate and distract into a screen. We numb with drugs, alcohol, and anger.
We stop walking our Yellow-Brick Road to Oz.
I know. I’ve done it all.
Wandering deeper into the woods, distracted while time drives on, and Oz sits in the distance, waiting for us to return to the road.
To get back, we need to shout into the abyss, “What am I searching for!?”
-In this fast food?
-In this alcohol?
-In this 30-minute TikTok binge?
-By not working out?
And answer back with nothing less than brutal, cleansing honesty.
“Distraction”
“Relief, but I’ll settle for numbness.”
“An adventure, but I’ll settle for a sense of novelty.”
“Certainty that I won’t be judged by myself or others.”
When we dare to ask the questions we’ve been avoiding, then rise to answer honestly, the road re-appears.
You find the road, now you only need clarity on the direction walk in.
Finally, ask: What would cure the disease instead of treating the symptoms?
What would kill the Wicked Witch of the West?
What is your super-soaker of holy water?
Accept that I deserve better and that I’m the captain of my life, right now, one decision at a time, starting right now.
Putting the nightly drinks down and building myself, my mind, and my soul to become a giving machine.
Climbing a mountain, waking up for the sunrise, improv lessons, try out for a musical with no acting experience.
Build my body and spirit, little by little, meal by meal, workout by workout, until I no longer fear judgment.
This is how you break the spell. The witch melts when we call her by her real name, taking her power away by re-claiming ours.
We pump the super-soaker, aim, and unleash all hell on her when we face the truth, ask for help, accept our pains, and renew our worth.
Being courageous enough to find clarity is how we put our feet back on the path and walk it.
Maybe a jog this time for the Zone 2 benefits.
