In the past, I have written about the parallels between the recovery from Parkinson’s and the Wizard of Oz. Today, I am pulling together some of my favorite thoughts from the Oz blog posts and updating them for you.
There is a woman I am coaching, and she ends all of her emails with this quote: “You always had the power”…. Glinda 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 Glinda 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 of us have been on this path.” 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 and wanting to make the others happy, takes their advice and gets on their 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 to do.
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, it 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. She complies and gets in the hot air balloon basket. Fortunately for Dorothy, 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 Glinda arrives, and Dorothy implores her, “Can you please get me home?”
Glinda informs Dorothy that Recoveryville is real, and that the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® can guide Dorothy there. However, Glinda tells her is that one of the most important things Dorothy needs to know is, “You always had the power.”
Glinda 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, 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? Follow the wisdom of Glinda the Good Witch…”You always had the power.”
Repeat to yourself, “I have the power to heal myself. I always had the power.” Now, get on your path to Recoveryville with the Recipe, and do not get off the path until you reach full recovery!
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
I’m on the path to recovery and I will not get off until I recover . We have the power to heal ourselves . Some do it quicker than others. We are all Unique and very special. We will get there in time. Love and Blessings to everyone 😀😀😀😀
Welcome back, Rick! Missed you last week along with my other mate, Karen. I thought you’d both gone sailing round the bay without me. LOL.
When I think of Oz, I think of you. Your way of looking at recovery fits well with Howard’s reworked version of The Wizard because you have always known you have the power to heal yourself and your repeated declarations that you won’t get off the path to recovery until you have recovered are like windchimes, music to my ears.
I would love to close my eyes, bang the heels of my slippers together three times and wake up in Recoveryville. But a journey is exactly that; it involves travelling from one place to another in order to reach the final destination.
Would I really like to miss out on the learning experience and be instantly transported to Recoveryville?
Yeah! 😎
Hi Val, did you really think that we would go out on the bay without you.? especially as you are in charge of the “chilly bin”
(when I was in NZ, it’s what we call a “cool box” but full of beer and OFCOURSE cider for you 😉)
Tough week last week, let’s just say, I was NOT good company. 🙄
I am with you in the “ instantly transported to Recoveryville “
I have given oldman Parky 10 years, I ain’t giving him any more years, if I can help it. 😊
Same again, Karen. Welcome back!
I’m so sorry you’ve been through a bad patch and glad to see you’ve got your humour back. Don’t give old man Parky 10 years; give him the besom broom!
Never underestimate how much your presence matters. Fridays wouldn’t be the same without Howard saying hello and imparting his wisdom, and seeing the old, familiar names on the blog.
I spend a lot of time in the doldrums with PD. But, hey, Sakina’s blessing has just caught my eye.
I hope you have a really good week to make up for the last one.
Cheers, mate.
Val
Hi Val, I am alone this weekend and despite initial fear, I been quite brave.. My son has been feeding a family of Ferrell cats for the last few years. Last night on my way to bed it was still bright outside at 10.30 so I headed to back door as they were all still waiting for my son. I can’t bend down ,so I just threw them a couple of handfuls of dried food, then suddenly one of the black guys comes into me and proceeds to weave himself in a figure of eight in and around my legs lol . No interest in the food his siblings were enjoying, but I stood there laughing as there was nothing I could do. “ don’t panic Karen” I was in my bare feet so I eventually got him to stop and as I gently got my foot under his belly and lifted him up and out the door, I felt elated. Not only had I stood at the back door for ten minutes but at one stage on one leg! Haha. There was a lot of “thank you thank you thank you God, Jesus, angles or whoever just helped me just do that with no drama” lol I was still smiling brushing my teeth. 😁
Hi Val , even though I didn’t say anything last week, I’m always here . Run out of words lol 😂 I want you to know that you and Karen from my island hold a special place in my heart . Lots of love to you both 😀😀
Awwwwww Rick what a gorgeous message to Val and I. The feeling is mutual my Aussie friend. 😊xx
Glad to hear that you’re hanging in there, cobber, and thanks for finding those lovely words from the heart. Blowing a kiss to Australia and Ireland … Val
Hello Mr Howard and fellow warriors.. Happy Friday !! Fellow warriors, with Allah’s blessings we all are on the path to recoveryville with boost, confidence and faith. We will not get off the path until we reach full recovery. What an interesting message Mr Howard. Lots of love ❤️. Have a great weekend 🙏🏼
Dear Howard, Thank you so much for sharing that story. I’m definitely on the path to recovery. I’m not giving up until I’m there. Many blessings and love, Judy
I haven’t seen this film for a long time and I’ll watch it with Tanja soon.
Based on your wunderful interpretation of the film, I now see the evil witch as the fear
and the flying monkey army as the negative self-winding thoughts that have long terrorized me.
I see the good witch as self-love.
the self proclaimed wizard I held so powerful
– my mind
– is an illusion a deception.
❤️
Yes on all counts!
Roland,
You brought Howard’s story to completion for me.
Thank you, and thanks Howard, or Glinda (wink).
Yet another post/message that I love. It resonates as truth. Perfect!
Thanks brother.
Absolutely beautiful, spot on and fun analogy which gives me a good excuse to watch one of my all time favorite movies again.
Thank you Howard!!
Love to all xoxox
Hi Howard, I really enjoyed your post as it made me laugh. I know everything you are saying is the truth. I have all the ingredients for the cake, but it’s like every time I lovingly prepare it, it still comes out tasting like *hite. I KNOW I am on the right path, but they say “it’s a long road that has no turn” I am worthy of even a little turn on my road. Pity party for one lol. I surrender it all to God, and I trust in his presence in me, WHERE I have had the power all along. Me and Toto get it. Thank you for your words, Howard, they soothe my heart. xx 💕
Wonderful post, Howard. Terrific analogy! Home is where the heart is and there’s no place like home. “I have the power” feels very empowering! ♥️
Great advice, Howard, sometimes we are wondering where you get all your
supporting ideas from, wonderful, thank you very much!!
For me, the tin man is the soul, the scarecrow the mind and the lion the body. Dorothy is a composit of the three. She is lost in the beginning because her components have lost and forgotten their essential characteristics: love, brilliance, and courage. This leaves Dorothy out of balance and confused. By the end of the journey Dorothy’s soul, mind, and body have regained and accepted their roles. This allows a healthy, well balanced Dorothy to easily find her way home to Recoveryville.
L Frank Baum first told his stories of Dorothy at the Selig Polyscope movie studio here on the north side of Chicago. The original Oz silent movie came out of Selig. Long before the one we all know. So I have always had a deep affection for the Oz stories. Now I know why. See you all in Recoveryville!
Great write up on the analogy of returning to Oz and the Parkinson’s recovery. Many times recently I have been on the path to recovery but FEAR (false evidence appearing real) takes over and brings back me to the ground. However, I am not giving up and will continue doing the Recovery recipe until I recover fully.
Thank you for the interesting responses by the warriors out there.
Thanks Howard; my mind and soul are already in Recoveryville. Just my body needs to catch up. When I read the story with my name, it makes it so real.
Love to all of you, Uwe