THE JOURNEY HOME: The Wizard of Oz & The Greatest Treasure in the World
DOROTHY: Auntie Em, really — You know what Miss Gulch said she was gonna do to Toto!? She said she was gonna–
AUNT EM: Now, Dorothy, dear, stop imagining things. You always get yourself into a fret over nothing. Now, you just help us out today, and find yourself a place where you won’t get into any trouble.
DOROTHY: [to herself] Some place where there isn’t any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be.
A place where there isn’t any trouble.
I want to find that place too.
I recently re-watched The Wizard of Oz (1939), probably the most iconic film in U.S. history, and I was amazed by the journey that Dorothy and her friends take. The story has such incredible depth and richness that is easily missed. In fact, from a certain perspective, I think you and I can follow the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy, all the way back home. I don’t mean home like a physical place, but home like a feeling place, like a spiritual place, like a soul place.
Now, I think the key to unlocking anything of real, lasting value from a film like this is to go beyond the surface level story. I call this the metaphorical or mythological level. At this deeper level, the story points beyond the specifics of the film to the archetypal challenges, triumphs, and characters that we all encounter in the journey of life.
One last thing before we dive into the film. I think the key to unlocking anything of real, lasting value from an essay like this is to find yourself in it — to read it like it matters, to read it like it could impact the quality of your life, to read it like there is something at stake. I’m not very interested in writing for your entertainment (though you may be entertained). I’m much more interested in writing for your transformation — in writing for a kind of impact or value or shift-in-perspective — so that by the time you’re done reading, you’re not the same person who started it. I know, I know, that’s a tall order. And for that to happen, both you and I will need to bring our full selves to this. If you’re game for that, I am too.
OK let’s go deep.
LOSING HOME
The movie opens on a country road in rural Kansas. Dorothy is running home, frazzled and upset. The neighbor Miss Gulch just hit her beloved dog Toto when she found him in her garden.
When Dorothy gets back home to the farm, she shares her troubles with the three farmhands — Zeke, Hickory, and Hunk. Then Aunt Em arrives and Dorothy tries complaining to her, but she won’t have it.
DOROTHY: Auntie Em, really — You know what Miss Gulch said she was gonna do to Toto!? She said she was gonna–
AUNT EM: Now, Dorothy, dear, stop imagining things. You always get yourself into a fret over nothing. Now, you just help us out today, and find yourself a place where you won’t get into any trouble.
The encounter with Aunt Em is a catalyst for one of the most famous songs in movie history and for Dorothy’s spiritual journey (as we’ll see in a bit).
DOROTHY: [to herself] Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It’s not a place you can get to by a boat or a train. It’s far, far away — behind the moon — beyond the rain —
Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,
There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Away above the chimney tops,
That’s where you’ll find me.
As Dorothy finishes dreaming about “somewhere over the rainbow,” Miss Gulch arrives at the farm on her bicycle. She meets with Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and Dorothy in their living room.
Miss Gulch threatens to sue them and have Toto “destroyed,” then shows them a letter from the sheriff giving her permission to take Toto. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry finally give in and hand over the dog. Dorothy is distraught and runs to her room crying.
Miss Gulch bikes off with Toto down the country road, but he manages to escape out of the basket and run back to Dorothy. Dorothy, overwhelmed with joy, quickly realizes that Miss Gulch will be back as soon as she sees Toto went missing. She decides to runaway from home.
We’re less than 10 minutes into the film and Dorothy has had her innocent, cherished dog Toto hit and threatened to be destroyed. In one scene, she’s dreaming of a land where “troubles melt like lemon drops” and “dreams really do come true.” In the next scene, in the safety of her own home, her trusted guardians handover Toto to the evil neighbor.
Can you see that this is the setting for an existential crisis — an identity crisis — a spiritual crisis? The contrast of the dream and reality. The threat to her innocence (Toto). The breaking of trust in her own home.
As Leon the Snowman told Buddy in Elf (2003), “This might be the golden opportunity to find out who you really are.”
Dorothy doesn’t have a Leon the Snowman, but she does have a Professor Marvel. She hasn’t run far away when she meets Professor Marvel, a traveling psychic. He pretends to read her fortune. He says he sees Aunt Em dying because she has runaway. Dorothy is mortified. She quickly grabs Toto, says goodbye to Professor Marvel, and begins running back toward home.
Professor Marvel may have lied about Aunt Em’s condition, but he did Dorothy a great service — like Leon the Snowman did for Buddy — he pointed her in the direction of home.
Back on the farm, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and the three farmhands are rushing around. A great tornado has started ripping through the area and the wind is howling.
(It’s interesting to note that all of this chaos is happening outside the farm at the same time that chaos is happening inside Dorothy. Coincidence? I think not.)
Taking cover, Dorothy runs into her bedroom, where the wind blows so hard that the shutters rip off and hit her in the head, knocking her unconscious. Her house is seen spinning up inside the tornado. She begins to wake. Finally, the house comes crashing down. Dorothy opens her front door and walks out. The movie turns from black-and-white to a full color picture.
“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
WELCOME TO OZ
Dorothy wakes up in the strange, magical Land of Oz. She meets the Munchkins and Glinda, the good witch, who informs her that her house killed the Wicked Witch of the East when it landed in Oz.
Just as the Munchkins finish celebrating her death, the Wicked Witch of the West shows up.
Glinda makes the ruby red slippers disappear off the dead witch’s feet and reappear on Dorothy’s. The Wicked Witch is furious. She vows to take revenge for killing her sister and taking the ruby red slippers. Then disappears.
The whole situation frightens Dorothy, who is now ready to go home.
DOROTHY: Which is the way back to Kansas? I can’t go the way I came.
GLINDA: No — that’s true. The only person who might know would be the great and wonderful Wizard of Oz himself! He lives in the Emerald City, and that’s a long journey from here.
DOROTHY: But, how do I start for the Emerald City?
GLINDA: It’s always best to start at the beginning — and all you do is follow the Yellow Brick Road.
The Emerald City. The Wizard of Oz. And the Yellow Brick Road.
You have those in your life too.
You have an Emerald City. It’s that place where you know everything will turn out. It’s your “fantasy land,” your “paradise,” your “utopia.” That distant, faraway land — that once you get there, everything will be OK. For Dorothy that was a large, shimmering green city. For you, it’s living in that home or that town or that beach. You know that beach? The one where there are no troubles, no worries, no drama, not a care in the world. That one. If you were there, you could finally relax, enjoy yourself, not need to look good or prove anything or “make it” in the world. You would be home. But not now. Not here. No. Home is a distant, faraway land — “over the rainbow.”
It’s not this grass, it’s that greener grass over there.
It’s not this side of the river, it’s that other side over there.
(See, when Dorothy first lands in Oz she exclaims, “We must be over the rainbow!”, referring back to her dream of the place where “troubles melt like lemon drops.” But almost immediately, Dorothy — in her encounter with the Wicked Witch — realizes that this isn’t it, this isn’t the place. It’s really the Emerald City, or more accurately, it’s in the Emerald City where she will finally be able to “get” home — feel at home, be at home.)
Maybe it’s not about the Emerald City for you — maybe it’s not about a place— maybe it’s about a person. Now, for Dorothy, that person was the Wizard of Oz. But who is it for you? Who is the person who will save you — who will get you home? The one who scoops you up out of obscurity, out of ordinariness, out of your little, rural Kansas farm life and takes you to the castle, takes you to the Emerald City, takes you home. It’s them you are waiting for. Right now, here, these circumstances — this isn’t it. You’re waiting for Prince Charming, “Mr. Right”, or Jason Momoa. Or you’re waiting for the “girl next door” or the Victoria’s Secret model or Scarlett Johansson.
Or maybe you’re not into fairy tales, not you, instead you’re waiting for your boss to finally notice you and give you the raise and the promotion you deserve — then things will really be OK (and you can finally afford that exotic vacation). Or you’re waiting for your dad to finally say “I’m proud of you” and “I love you”— that’s all you really need. Or you’re waiting for your mom to take care of you like she used to — that’s it — then she is your Wizard of Oz, she is your savior, your liberator.
But what’s the path to the Emerald City? How do you find the Wizard of Oz? That’s your Yellow Brick Road. That’s your journey. That’s the way back home.
Are you starting to find yourself in the story yet? Can you see yourself in Dorothy? Have you ever felt like you landed in a strange, magical place? Have you ever wanted to just get home? If so, stay with that feeling.
THE JOURNEY HOME
Dorothy starts on the Yellow Brick Road. In short order, Dorothy (who wants to get home) meets the Scarecrow (who wants a brain), the Tin Man (who wants a heart), and the Lion (who wants courage).
Together as friends, they set off toward the Emerald City, toward the Wizard of Oz, toward home.
What a gift to have friends along for the journey. I’m reminded of what the American spiritual teacher Ram Dass said:
“We’re all just walking each other home.”
When they finally reach the Emerald City, it’s not what they expect (that happens to us a lot, doesn’t it?). Barrier after barrier is put up between them and the Wizard. At first, the gatekeeper refuses to open the main gate of the Emerald City. Then the taxi driver almost refuses to take them to the Wizard’s palace. Then the guard of the Wizard’s palace refuses to open the door.
When he finally does open it, the group travels through a long, dark corridor to at last reach the throne room of the Wizard.
The Wizard appears as a large, ghostly green head surrounded by fire and smoke. The group is terrified.
OZ: I AM OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL! Who are you?
DOROTHY: [Stammering] I… If you please… I… I am Dorothy… the small and meek. We’ve come to ask you —
OZ: [Interrupting] SILENCE!!
DOROTHY: Ohhh — Jiminy Crickets!
OZ: The Great and Powerful Oz knows why you have come. Step forward… Tin Man.
The Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion — who haven’t introduced themselves, but who the Wizard already knows (interesting, huh?) — take turns stepping forward. The Wizard insults them for even daring to ask for a heart, a brain, and courage. When it’s his turn, the Lion faints out of fear. After Dorothy stands up for him, the Wizard admits that he has “every intention of granting” their requests. But first, they must bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch. Then the Wizard commands them all out of the room.
In the next scene, we find Dorothy and friends in the Haunted Forest on the way to the Witch’s castle. But the Wicked Witch has already sent her flying monkeys to capture Dorothy. They grab her and Toto and leave her friends in the forest. The Witch confronts Dorothy and casts a spell that will have her die when the red-sand hourglass runs out.
Meanwhile, Toto escapes, finds her friends, and directs them to the castle. They come up with a plan, sneak into the castle, and free Dorothy — requiring brains, a heart, and courage! Unfortunately, the Witch catches up with the group and corners them. When she sets Scarecrow on fire, Dorothy grabs a pail of water and goes to splash it on him, but misses and hits the Witch. Unbeknownst to the group, that’s her weakness!
WITCH: Ohhh — you cursed brat! Look what you’ve done! I’m melting! Melting! Oh — what a world — what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness!? Ohhh! Look out! Look out! I’m going. Ohhhh! Ohhhhhh….
The Witch is dead and all begin to celebrate.
Back at the Wizard’s throne room, Dorothy presents the Witch’s broom to him. And again, things aren’t as they expect.
DOROTHY: We’d like you to keep your promise to us, if you please, sir.
OZ: Not so fast! Not so fast! I’ll have to give the matter a little thought. Go away and come back tomorrow!
DOROTHY: Tomorrow? Oh, but I want to go home now.
OZ: Do not arouse the wrath of the Great and Powerful Oz! I said — come back tomorrow!
Just as he says this, Toto runs over and pulls back a curtain, revealing a middle-aged man (Oz) who is speaking into a microphone. He tries to keep up the act — “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” — but it’s too late.
They approach him and he admits to being a fraud. The group is furious. “What about that heart you promised Tin Man!?” “And the courage that you promised Cowardly Lion!?” “And Scarecrow’s brain!?”
In the original script, but not in the actual movie, the Wizard replies, “But you’ve got them! You’ve had them all the whole time.”
The four of them refuse to believe it. “Oh, no we haven’t!” they all say in unison. The Tin Man says, “You don’t get around us that easy!” The Lion, “Not no how!” The Scarecrow, “You promised us real things!”
Now in the actual movie, when they confront the Wizard, he replies, “Why anybody can have a brain.” And explains that the Scarecrow already has a brain. The Scarecrow then launches into a mathematical formula, thereby proving that he has a brain. “I’ve got a brain!” he exclaims. As a symbol of this, the Wizard awards him a “Doctor of Thinkology” degree. The Wizard goes on to explain to the Tin Man and the Lion that they already have a heart (kindness) and courage. Symbolically, he gives them a heart-shaped clock and a medal that says “Courage.”
When Dorothy asks about getting home, the Wizard says he’ll have to take her back to Kansas himself. He has a hot air balloon just for the occasion.
The people of the Emerald City all gather around the balloon. Just as it’s about to take off, Toto gets distracted and jumps out of the basket. Dorothy chases after him and Oz is helpless to stop the balloon. It’s already floating away. Dorothy yells after him to no avail.
Just then Glinda, the good witch, shows up.
DOROTHY: Oh, will you help me? Can you help me?
GLINDA: You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.
DOROTHY: I have?
SCARECROW: Then why didn’t you tell her before?
GLINDA: Because she wouldn’t have believed me. She had to learn it for herself…Now, those magic slippers will take you home in two seconds!
DOROTHY: Oh, now?
GLINDA: Whenever you wish.
[Dorothy says her goodbyes]
DOROTHY: I’m ready now.
GLINDA: Then close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself — “There’s no place like home.”
DOROTHY: There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.
Dorothy wakes up back home on the farm surrounded by her family. She attempts to explain her dream to them, but quickly gives up.
DOROTHY: Oh, but anyway, Toto, we’re home! HOME! And this is my room — and you’re all here! And I’m not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And — Oh, Auntie Em — there’s no place like home!
The screen fades black and the words appear: “The End.”
HOME
What’s this all about?
Because on the surface, it’s just a playful, entertaining movie about a girl who wants to leave home, does leave home, immediately regrets it, finds her way back home, and says she’ll never leave again.
Not particularly interesting.
I think you can go a little deeper. It’s pretty easy to find the archetypal hero’s journey. Dorothy leaves the safety and comfort of home — as all heroes do (think: Pinocchio leaving his father’s workshop or Luke Skywalker leaving his home planet of Tatooine). She enters into a foreign, strange, yet magical land (think: Coco in the Land of the Dead or Jake Sully exploring Pandora in Avatar). She makes new friends and fights the forces of evil (think: Moana and Maui teaming up to defeat Te Kā or Neo and team battling Agent Smith in the first Matrix). Finally, she defeats the forces of evil and returns home as a new woman (think: Frodo returning to the Shire in the final Lord of the Rings or Simba taking over as king after defeating Scar in The Lion King).
At this level, The Wizard of Oz takes its place among many other great films that share the timeless hero’s journey — films that can breathe new life into us, that can inspire us to travel outside our comfort zone, take risks, and follow our heart.
But I don’t want to stop there because I think The Wizard of Oz has something special to offer — lessons that are right there in the story, but not obvious at first glance.
Now, this is where it really starts to get interesting.
For starters, I don’t think Dorothy actually met any friends on the journey. None. They were made up. The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion were all just aspects of her own self.
This is actually hinted at in the opening scenes of the movie. Remember when Dorothy complained to the three farmhands? Here’s how they each respond:
HUNK: [Who plays the Scarecrow in Oz] Now look it, Dorothy, you ain’t using your head about Miss Gulch. Think you didn’t have any brains at all.
HICKORY: [Who plays the Tin Man] You know, you should have a little more heart yourself and have pity on her.
ZEKE: [Who plays the Lion] She ain’t nothing to be afraid of. Have a little courage, that’s all.
It’s not the Scarecrow who needs a brain or the Tin Man who needs a heart or the Lion who needs courage — it’s Dorothy! Those three characters are just anthropomorphized versions of the virtues (intelligence, kindness, and courage) that Dorothy herself is seeking but doesn’t yet know it.
When she discovers those virtues, she’ll be home.
In the same way that the Blue Fairy told Pinocchio that to become a real boy, he must first prove himself “brave, truthful, and unselfish.”
Like Pinocchio, Dorothy is practically told this from the outset. And like Pinocchio, being told that makes no difference because — in matters of the spirit — “knowing” (intellectually) makes no difference. One has to discover it for themselves. The good witch Glinda knows that.
SCARECROW: Why didn’t you tell her before?
GLINDA: Because she wouldn’t have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.
So Dorothy is on the adventure to discover these virtues. To do so, she must travel along the Yellow Brick Road, reach the Emerald City, defeat the Wicked Witch, and return to the Wizard of Oz.
Do you remember your Emerald City? The place where it’ll all finally be OK. Or your Wizard of Oz? The person who will save you. If so, stay with that. (I wrote about reaching my Emerald City: here)
Dorothy finds intelligence and courage in defeating the Wicked Witch and finds kindness in her relationship with her friends and the people of Oz.
Now, she doesn’t know that yet. So at the end, when she returns the Witch’s broom to the Wizard of the Oz she says, “Where is what you promised us!?” Where’s my heart? My brain? My courage?
Do you remember his response? It’s gold.
He looks at them, stammers for a moment, then says: “But you’ve got them! You’ve had them all the whole time.”
Think about that for a second… The answer to “Where is what you promised us?” “Where is what I’ve been seeking?” “Where is what I really want?” is…
“Inside of you!”
Dang! That’s good.
Do you want to know where the greatest treasure in the world lies?
When Dae Ju first came to Zen Master Ma-jo, the Zen Master asked him, “What do you want from me?”
Dae Ju said, “I want you to teach me the Dharma [the way of the Buddha].”
“What a fool you are!” said the Zen Master. “You have the greatest treasure in the world within you, and yet you go around asking other people for help. What good is this? I have nothing to give you.”
Dae Ju bowed and said, “Please Master, tell me what this treasure is.”
The Zen Master said, “Where is your question coming from? This is your treasure. It is precisely what is making you ask the question at this very moment. Everything is stored in this precious treasure-house of yours. It is there at your disposal, you can use it as you wish, nothing is lacking. You are the master of everything. Why, then, are you running away from yourself and seeking for things outside?”
Upon hearing these words, Dae Ju attained enlightenment.
The right thing said at the right time can unlock you — it can set you free. All the rest is just preparation, just a ripening. It was all about Dorothy getting ready to hear it in that moment. I’m reminded of the “ripening” of the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. Or Jacob falling asleep and waking up to the fact that “God is in this place and I did not know it.” Or Pinocchio before becoming a real boy. Or Luke before becoming a Jedi.
Like the Zen Master, the Wizard of Oz unlocks Dorothy when he tells her that what she’s been seeking is already inside of her.
In fact — not only are the virtues already inside of her — but Dorothy had the power to go home the entire time.
What!?
She learns this after Oz flies off in the hot air balloon. Despite learning that the virtues are already inside of her, she still thinks that Oz is going to save her, that he’s still her ticket home. So she’s distraught when he flies off. But wait for it…
DOROTHY: [To Glinda] Oh, will you help me!? Can you help me?
GLINDA: You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.
Dorothy can hardly grasp this, so she asks “Oh, now?” Like, can I go home now? Glinda says, “Whenever you wish.”
Whenever. You. Wish.
She’s always had the power… from the moment she landed in Oz. She’s had the power to get back home — back home like a feeling place, like spiritual place, like a soul place — the place where “dreams really do come true.”
She’s already had it, but she was unaware that she had it! Just like Dae Ju in the parable.
And just like you. Yup, you, dear reader. What you want from your Emerald City, from your Wizard of Oz — you already have inside of you.
Is that hard to hear? Maybe you’re like Dorothy who refused to believe it when the Wizard of Oz first told her. Remember what she said?
“Oh, no we haven’t!” they all say in unison. The Tin Man says, “You don’t get around us that easy!” The Lion, “Not no how!” The Scarecrow, “You promised us real things!”
Just look. Sure, maybe you don’t have the money you want or the promotion or the big house or the knight in shining armor. But is that what you really want? Dorothy didn’t really want to reach the Emerald City, she wanted to experience herself as intelligent, courageous, and kind. Now, that is already inside of you. The joy, the happiness, the peace, the satisfaction, the love, the connection, the sense of meaning and purpose. That’s already there. Preparing. Ripening. Waiting to burst forth at the right moment — which is “whenever you wish.”
Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God isn’t something you can see. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already within you.”
The three thousand year-old Hindu holy books say Tat Tvam Asi — which means “Thou art THAT” or “You are IT!”
Dorothy woke up from Oz. She woke up from her dream. She woke up a new woman full of love and gratitude for her life and the people in it.
But wait a second… because if she was still in her bedroom when she woke up… then in actuality, Dorothy was already home the whole time.
All of the drama in Oz — all of it — the flying monkeys, the Wicked Witch, the Munchkins, the Emerald City, the Wizard, her friends… they were all made up. They were all just part of the dream. They weren’t real!
The reality was that Dorothy was ALREADY HOME, lying in her bed, dreaming that she wasn’t home.
It was only in her imagination — her mind, her thoughts — that she wasn’t home.
It wasn’t that she “always had the power” to get home. No. She was already home!
That’s you too.
It’s only in your mind — your thoughts — that you’re ever away from home, that you’re ever separate from the Universe, from Spirit, from God, from Source, from Love. No. All of that is just a dream. The drama is made up. You’re not separate. You’re not lost. You’re not forgotten about.
There’s nowhere you have to go.
There’s nothing you have to do.
You are home thinking that you’re not.
It’s right under your feet.
One day a young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river.
Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit he saw a great Zen Master on the other side of the river.
The young man yelled over to the Master, “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river?”
The teacher pondered for a moment, looked up and down the river, and yelled back, “My friend, you are on the other side!”
It’s that simple.
(You didn’t see all of this coming from an essay on The Wizard of Oz, did you?)
OK, I have to be honest… Remember what I said about it all being “preparation” and a “ripening” for the right moment? Well, this essay has been like that — it’s been a sort of long, winding Yellow Brick Road leading to the Wizard of Oz. All of the examples and references and quotes and stories were preparation so I could tell you this:
YOU ALREADY HAVE WHAT YOU SEEK.
YOU ALREADY HAVE THE POWER.
YOU ARE ALREADY HOME.
Now click your heels together 3 times and wake up.
