Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn’t, didn’t already have.” – Tin Man (America)
The 1939 cinematic classic, The Wizard of Oz, is a story about the quest of four characters who are on the road trying to find what they most desire – somewhere out there (“over the rainbow”). Dorothy wants to return home to Kansas, the Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Man wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants courage. They believe that the only person in Oz who has the ability to give them what they want is the Wizard. So off they go, down the Yellow Brick Road, to Emerald City to meet the Wizard.
Of course, when they finally get to the Emerald City, the big surprise is that the Wizard is a total charlatan, and has no actual “powers” to do anything for them. What the characters learn is that each of them already had the very thing they sought. Throughout their journey, Dorothy was always wearing the magic ruby slippers which had the power to transport her and Toto back to Kansas. The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion all demonstrated throughout their journey they they already possessed brains, heart, and courage, respectively.
So, why is it that these characters go to so much trouble (and danger) to seek these qualities in the external world – when they already exist within themselves? The obvious answer is because there wouldn’t be much of a story plot unless they did. But the simple truth is, when it comes to the most important answers we seek in life, looking within ourselves is usually the last place we think of. From the moment we are born, we are taught that we are dependent creatures who can only find knowledge by going to schools, God by going to churches, and happiness by getting a good paying job, marrying a wonderful spouse, and living in a beautiful home with a white picket fence. We are conditioned since birth to seek all of our “creature comforts” by turning outward, instead of inward.
The problem with that type of external dependence is that it creates a false belief that it’s the school that’s going to make us smart, the church that’s going to make us virtuous people, and a certain job, mate, or house, that’s going to make us happy. The sad truth is that that is exactly what happens to most people. Believe me when I say that I am not advocating for the abolishment of all schools, churches, or the institution of marriage. I am merely saying that these external entities in our lives do not ultimately hold the answers to our most important life questions.
This morning, like every morning, I did the crossword puzzle in my local daily newspaper. As you may know, the puzzles get harder throughout the week – starting with Monday – with Saturday’s crossword being the most challenging. Sunday’s puzzle is probably as hard as, let’s say, a Thursday crossword, but only bigger. That said, there are many Friday and Saturday puzzles that scare me, when I first glance them over, because I don’t think I know the majority of answers to the clues I’m seeing. There are even times when, after working a difficult puzzle for an hour or so, I feel like giving up.
But here lies the amazing life lesson that I have learned about my ability to do crossword puzzles – and this is the absolute truth – all the answers are already within me. Today’s Saturday crossword (the week’s most difficult) was no exception. At first glance, I felt that I might only know 3-4 answers off the top of my head. Yet, somehow within a two-hour timeframe, my brain was able to completely fill in the answers to every clue of that crossword puzzle. How is that possible? Did I use an outside source, like a dictionary? Absolutely not – I’m too much of a crossword purist to do that. (Did I mention that I only do them using an ink pen?).
My point is not that I am some kind of “crossword puzzle savant,” or that I have a superior intellect compared to most. Certainly, as someone who has studied English in college, is a huge trivia buff, and prides himself as being a wordsmith, I’m sure that those qualities give me a huge advantage when doing something like crossword puzzles. What I am trying to emphasize here is where I end up going to find the answers that I need. I’m sure that, for many, the easiest resource is a dictionary or Google search. But, over time, I have learned to be patient – and trust that the answer will eventually be found somewhere in that enormous file cabinet called my brain.
Again, because of my personal history of studying English for many years, being a writer, and possessing a lot of trivial knowledge – not to mention doing crossword puzzles for most of my life – I wouldn’t expect that many other people would be able to complete 100% of every crossword puzzle they attempt the way I do. But, mind you, there were 130 clues to this morning’s crossword and, at first glance, I only thought I knew 3-4 of the answers. If I didn’t thoroughly believe that all 130 answers were somewhere inside me, tucked away in some dusty old file cabinet, I could have easily given up fifteen minutes after starting it.
Which brings us back to the Yellow Brick Road, and our four characters searching for those desirable, virtuous qualities that, unbeknownst to them, have just been lying dormant within themselves. How very easy it would be for each of them to not believe they already possessed that which they were going to the Wizard to hopefully find. How easy to assume that a head full of straw couldn’t possibly possess any signs of intelligence. Only after such an arduous journey as theirs, were they finally able to go deeply inside themselves (where their True Selves reside) and discover, “Hey, where has this thinking brain, this loving heart, and this courage been hiding? I guess I just never thought of looking for it in here.”
Just like when I saw the clue, this morning, “Artist who influenced Schiele” – initially, I drew a complete blank. But, by simply being persistent, patient, and trusting, I eventually discovered that “Klimt” was the answer to 21 Down (and I don’t have to wait for the answers in Monday’s newspaper to know that is correct). In other words, by believing in my True Self – the inner “me” that knows my strengths better than my False Self ever did when I was looking out there for answers – I have a newfound confidence that I never knew before. Going inside of myself to find the answers to life’s most important questions has become my new norm. It’s like coming home to the person I was meant to be.
And, as we all know, there’s no place like home.