We're Off to See the Wizard!

It’s almost funny how quickly it can happen; the shift from feeling alive to mostly dead. We all remember a time in our childhood, however brief, when the world sang. Our pulse was the very pulse of the universe. Everything we encountered was fat with meaning and we paid attention.

Effortlessly, paid attention.

And at some point, that exquisite focus; that balance that buoys the soul, inevitably fades. It was a gift given to us, residing in us and a part of us, until it stops.

And then the rest of our lives are spent trying to recreate it, find it, be worthy of it or find a quick fix for it.

Have a drink, take a pill, go to a porn site, gamble or yell at your family. Cheat on your spouse, stay up ‘til dawn playing video games. Maybe have a cheese burger and then another and another. Find Jesus, find someone….anything to fill that hole.

In The Wizard of OZ, Dorothy and company are waylaid on their journey by a poppy field; the perfect metaphor, not only for those of us that have chosen alcohol or drugs as our distraction of choice, but for all of the above.

“Poppies will put them to sleep…”

What is your poppy field?

Are there even enough distractions on the planet to keep us from the precipice of this massive black hole?

Nope.

The Remedy's suggestion? Throw yourself in.

Enter the cave. That’s where the Wizard lives; the part of yourself that you have forgotten. The source of that faint memory of bliss from childhood.

My very good friend, and the founder of The Remedy, is fond of saying “You must surrender to win.” This is what that imperative means to me. Give up on “fixing” yourself. You don’t need to be fixed.

You just need to remember yourself.

Doesn’t that feel promising? Don’t you know exactly what I am talking about?

Yoga practice, Pilates, Mindfulness, Crystals, Macrobiotics, hypnotherapy, witchcraft and the Ice Capades (thank you, George Carlin) are all fine. But it is important to have proper intent. If you think that you are broken and need to be fixed, you will always start from a position of weakness.

Just stop.

Take a breath. Remember that you already are the change that you are striving for. Why else would it burn so strongly in your heart? Your job is to bring it forth from the shadows. Enter the cave, travel the path, go find your Wizard!

Just like any great friendship, it will feel like no time has passed.

"There's no place like home."