Fighting Parkinson’s, and the wisdom of Glenda

There is a woman I am coaching, and she ends all of her emails with this quote: “You always had the power”…. Glenda the Good Witch. The first time I saw this at the end of one of her emails, I knew she had crossed the threshold of knowing that she had the power to heal herself. Let’s take a trip to Oz together so we can explore the wisdom of Glenda the Good Witch.

When the story begins, Dorothy is in a state of confusion…things are different about her, and she cannot quite put her finger on it…suddenly she wakes up in Oz. Note: I am going to take a little poetic license here and refer to Oz as Parkinson’sville with Dorothy having Parkinson’s. Okay, back to the story. Dorothy wakes up and everything looks different, feels different, and she has a sense she is not quite herself. Lucky for her, there are a bunch of people to tell her what to do. They tell her to get on a path and follow the path to the end, and there will be a wizard, a specialist of sorts, who will make her feel better.

Dorothy is pleased that these people are so gracious as to offer her this advice. She asks how many of them have been on this path. They answer none. She asks how do they know this wizard will be able to help her. They say, they’ve heard he is a wonderful wiz if ever a wiz there was, so certainly he will be able to help her. She then asks if this path leads to Recoveryville. They tell her there is no such thing as Recoveryville. So, Dorothy, feeling uncertain in her own decisions, takes their advice and gets on the path.

On the path, she meets a scarecrow with no brain, a reminder that her Parkinson’s brain is not thinking clearly. Further along on the path, she meets a tin man without a heart, a reminder that she is having a hard time feeling happiness and joy and gratitude and compassion. Still further along the path, she meets a lion with no courage, a reminder that she has been lacking the courage to make decisions for herself and is just following what others are telling her.

They eventually get to Oz. They eventually meet the wizard. The wizard informs Dorothy there is no such place as Recoveryville, but life can at least be a bit more pleasant as she stays in Parkinson’sville for the rest of her life. He gives the scarecrow a diploma. Dorothy asks, will this diploma clear up my muddled thinking. The wizard says, of course not, but if you stare at it every now and again, if will make you feel a bit better about your situation. The wizard gives the tin man a clock that ticks and places it where his heart is missing. Dorothy asks if this ticking will help her re-establish feelings of happiness and joy and gratitude and compassion. The wizard says, of course not, but if you listen to it every now and again, if will make you feel a bit better about your situation.

The wizard gives the lion a medal. Dorothy asks if this medal will give her the courage to get on the path to Recoveryville. The wizard says, of course not, there is no such place as Recoveryville, but if you stare at the medal every now and again, if will make you feel a bit better about your situation. Finally, the wizard tells Dorothy he can take her home if she gets in his hot air balloon and flies with him through some tornadoes. Fortunately, Toto (you didn’t think I was going to leave Toto out of the story, did you?) jumps out of the hot air balloon basket, Dorothy chases him, and before she can get back in, the winds take the wizard and the hot air balloon, and off they go without Dorothy.

Dorothy, now more confused and distraught than ever, feeling completely hopeless and with little faith, begins to feel she will never get out of Parkinson’sville, that she will never get home. Then Glenda arrives, and Dorothy implores her, “Can you please get me home.” Glenda informs Dorothy that Recoveryville is real, and that she can guide Dorothy there, but the most important thing Dorothy needs to know is “You always had the power.”

Glenda further informs Dorothy that when she finds her way home, she will learn she is in Recoveryville…they are one and the same. With this boost of confidence and hope and faith, Dorothy finally understands, “Yes, I always had the power!” Dorothy starts doing the Recipe for Recovery, and she gets on her path toward Recoveryville with the firm conviction that she will not get off the path until she reaches full recovery.

How about you? Learn from the wisdom of Glenda the Good Witch…”you always had the power.”

Repeat to yourself, “I have the power to heal myself.” Now, get on your path to Recoveryville with the Recipe for Recovery, and do not get off the path until you reach full recovery!

You are worth it!!!

All my best,

Howard