It’s almost time for the annual airing of a favorite classic movie. I have probably seen this movie more than 50 times and always enjoy it and learn more from it. Do you remember the yellow brick road as the pathway to the Land of Oz, home of the great and powerful wizard? Dorothy, along with her friends the scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion, set out on this pathway, each in search of something that was missing from their lives. Convinced the great and powerful Oz would be able to help them, their journey concludes with the realization that the power they needed was always present within them.

Like most individuals, I don’t think I fully appreciated this underlying message of the “Wizard of Oz” for many years. Oh, it was a cool story filled with munchkins, flying monkeys, and witches, but for a long time the true message escaped me. As TOPS members, we often search for answers outside of ourselves. Like the characters in the Wizard of Oz, we face numerous challenges on our journey to find the way to live a happy, healthy life. Ultimately, we will find that the yellow brick road can only lead to one conclusion…the power to be all we can be lies within each of us. There are no great and powerful wizards, save the one that exists within each of our heart and minds.

Let’s look at that pathway we are taking to success. Are you traveling along that symbolic yellow brick road in search of someone or something that will make you successful? Perhaps, like Dorothy and her friends, you have found that the wizard is simply some man behind the curtain. The power to become all that you can be has always existed within you. TOPS is the Land of Ah Ha’s!

Simply close your eyes, click your heels together and repeat…there is no one like me!

I Care, Barb