Monday, November 8, 2010

We're Off to See the Wizard!

A good friend once told me that perception is reality. I didn't believe it at first. Reality or real things are true and the truth consists of things as they were, are, and will be. I thought things are what they are and nothing can change that. But then I thought about the difference glasses make. Things could be blurry and out of focus and then wahla! you can see. It's what we are looking through that can skew what we are seeing.

What sparked these thoughts was my sister's play The Wizard of Oz. A quick overview will remind us that the Scarecrow wants brains, the Tin Man a heart, and the Lion courage. Each thinks that they haven't got what they want because there is no physical evidence of it. All the Scarecrow has is straw, the Tin Man is hollow, and the Lion gets scared of rabbits.

What they don't realize is that they each already have what they want. The Scarecrow can TALK for crying out loud! Of course he can think. And the Tin Man cares for Dorothy and starts crying when things go wrong ... that shows a compassionate heart. Then we have the Lion. The Cowardly Lion. I think that it's brave to admit when you're scared of something. He has enough courage to face the Wicked Witch of the West. I think he just had to believe in himself.

Then we have Dorothy. A girl who thinks that someplace else will be so much better than what she has. Before Glinda tells Dorothy to click her heals, she mentions that she had the way to go home all along. However, she had to learn first that her heart's desire was no farther than her own backyard. She had to see it through a different lens.

Not to mention the Wizard. Just because the people thought he was a wizard actually made him that way in their eyes.

I think perceptions shape us more than we know. Some good. Some bad. I'm a bigger believer in "perceptions are reality" now. Not that I don't think the truth is always there; we just have to see it with the right eyes.

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