The Ruby Slippers have been forced upon Dorothy. There is no choice in the matter when Glenda magically adorns her feet with them. She replaces the shoes of a girl with the shoes of an older, more mature adult. Though they fit her, she has not yet grown into them.
This initiation is the entry point for her moving into her dark night of the
soul. In Dorothy’s case, this journey begins when her anger transports her from the safety of home into an unknown land where she must meet her emerging autonomous self, The dramatic change in her life is actually the death of life as she knew it.
Her journey into the unknown is the beginning of a life-changing event.
She will never be the same. This is ok!
It is a journey that is fostered by self-doubt, a fragmented sense of self, and fear of moving out of the current state of being. The greatest fear about moving out of what we know is moving into that which is unilluminated, unmapped, with no apparent direction or guidelines or rules. The anxiety and fear that surfaces while in this current of an underworld journey pushes to shift emotional and maturational stagnation.
At what point in your life have you felt that there were no rules, or maps to follow?
How did the mystery of the unknown feel to you?
What did you do to handle your fear and anxiety as it surfaced?
The yellow brick road, though filled with the brilliance of that spectacular yellow, is also blinding. Often we see before us so many brick roads. The plethora of choices is certainly overwhelming. How to pick just one? How to pick the right one? Will it matter which one is chosen? Are they all the correct path, taking you In different directions and ultimately teaching you the same lessons? The choosing of a path is filled with questions and not many solid answers.
When there are no expectations for the ending then all possibilities can occur. When you have an expectation of what you want the outcome to be, and believe that any other outcome will lead to disappointment: negative self-chatter will certainly be an integral part of this path. It may also stop your progress, altogether!
To stop the negative self -chatter it is of utmost importance to replace the chatter with positive affirmations that you believe in. IF you are saying the affirmations simply because you are told to repeat them, you are acting as-if, and though acting as-if can work, it is far better to ascertain what affirmations feel truly good to you, and then to speak them to your inner soul: the one who hears!
For Dorothy, if she allows her chatter of fear to stop her from forging ahead into unknown territory then indeed she will stagnate in her growth and maturation process. She will be inhibited from experiencing all that life has to offer.
Inhibitions are broken when you break through fear. As afraid as Dorothy is, she takes the exaltation and excitement shared with her from the Munchkins and Glenda, as if they are “GOOD MOTHERS”, and begins her journey into the unknown!
Every journey we take is a journey of unknowns. We form attachments around what we know. When is it indeed time to get in touch with the autonomous self in order for attachment to the self and others to occur in healthy ways.
What is the most fearful aspect of taking a journey on an unknown path?
Have you ever felt that you were sure of what the outcome would be only to be
surprised that things did not turn out as you had planned?
When do things actually turn out as planned? And when they do, how does it feel to you? And when they don’t how does that feel to you?
When was the last time you ventured out of your comfort zone?
What do you need to do to begin to tempt your discomfort by finding new
pathways?
Write to yourself about this aspect of your journey. Share your journey with me.
Tell me about your Yellow Brick Road
