Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Life Lessons we can all learn from The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz has just finished showing at Storyhouse, Chester, I didn't get around to seeing it, but was thrilled to see it got rave reviews.  I've always had a soft spot for The Wizard of Oz, it's the first musical I remember going to see as a child, I immediately fell in love, though I was terrified by the Wicked Witch of the West.

Based on Frank L. Baum's book, there's a reason people keep coming back to The Wizard of Oz, inspiring Wicked-another one on my list of shows to go and see, there are lessons contained within which, though subtle are very effective.

Dorothy lives with her family including her little dog Toto, early on in the film a huge storm ensues where - in her world, the house takes off with the force of the wind and lands far from home.  Dorothy wakes up after banging her head to discover she is in another land.  Her family are nowhere to be seen, though Toto is by her side .

Before long, we meet the terrifying Wicked Witch of the West and learn Dorothy must travel to Oz to meet The Wizard, we also meet the Munchkins(my ex-boyfriend always used to joke that I was related as I'm a bit of a shorty), as she remarks the famous line 'Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.'

The Wizard of Oz was the first film to have colour, it's exciting enough as a generation used to colour TV to see the screen change from black and white to glorious technicolour, I can't imagine what it would have felt like when the original film came out.

Dorothy meets some friends along the way and it is through her new friends we all learn some life lessons as we go.  The Tin Man doesn't have a heart, hard to imagine, as someone who wears her heart on her sleeve, the assumption is that I should be more guarded, less open.  But to do so just wouldn't be me, better to get hurt and have opened your heart than to go through life feeling nothing, just surface.  My heart's a little closed off at the moment as it tries to heal from several breaks, but I know in time my heart will again grow to be wide open.

The friends follow the Yellow Brick Road, a parallel for a path to sunshine and a brighter life.  Well we can all dream of living in a hot country(I do frequently), of beautiful sunsets and barbecues on the beach, but in reality you don't need to go to another country for that.  Just look at the summer heatwave of 2018.  You have to be comfortable in your own skin and no amount of travelling and island-hopping can do that, its a more of a journey of the mind, the spiritual journey I've been reading about, where you can close your eyes and travel to another realm instantly.

Dorothy meets The Scarecrow, a man without a brain, and we all need that balance between using our hearts and our heads to make important life decisions.  As I've worked in jobs which don't require degrees for a decade, I would sometimes come up against the question, 'what was the point in going to university, if you don't do a job related to your degree?' Well I did for several years, working in public libraries, and I loved it. Being surrounded by books all day, organising and hosting events and book groups, doing class visits for school children, passing on passion for words and information to the next generation.  But partly as there were no permanent contracts at the time, partly because I get bored way too easily, since then I've weathered several career changes, from central government departments, to banking.  In every job I've learnt something, developed skills, met people who have touched my life in one way or another.  So to return to the original question, it's kind of missing the point of why I went to university.  Coming from a small town where there weren't a great amount of job opportunity, where the town basically shuts down for the winter, going to university meant freedom, independence, meeting people and experiencing life in a way I never would have done if I hadn't gone to uni.

There's a part of The Wizard of Oz where the Wicked Witch of the West puts a spell on them and they all fall asleep in the Poppy fields.  This reminds me of the lesson I learnt in the summer from my counsellor, 'never get out of the boat.' If you know what you want, where you want to end up, or the type of people you want to surround yourself with, don't allow yourself be distracted by the hopes and dreams of others. Don't let them project their ideals onto you. 

Dorothy also meets The Lion who needs courage.  Because what's the point of a lion who can't scare people.  They're at the top of the food chain for a reason.  It takes courage to be yourself in a sea of sheep, to be the black sheep and -while always being kind and considerate to others- not following the conventional path in life.  Some of the most incredible poets and thinkers have done exactly that.

Because you might get to where you thought you needed to be, like Dorothy, and realise that Oz is just a man behind a curtain.  Tons of money doesn't bring you happiness.  But a life fixated on material wealth and loads of stuff is not one I'm attracted to.  You can't take it with you.  You can dream a whole life waiting for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and realise it was inside your soul the whole time.

Home isn't a place, well it can be, but it doesn't have to be.  It's more a state of mind.  And now it's time for me to click my ruby slippers and whisper sweetly;

There's no place like Home.