The real yellow brick road.

The Yellow Brick Road was meant to lead Dorothy and her friends to the great Wizard of Oz. Spoiler alert: everyone finds out that this “Wizard” was actually nothing more than a trembling man behind a curtain. 

Most of us have experienced our own yellow brick roads:

We pursue that lucrative career path, because we think it will make us happy.

We marry that person, because it's what culture says makes for a meaningful life.

Somewhere along the way, we might see that what we want in life is not necessarily on the other side of our path.

The scarecrow, who only wants a brain, realizes that he was the most intelligent of the group all along. The tin man, who only wants a heart, discovers so much love and emotion within. And the cowardly lion, who only wants to find courage, shows the group how to stand his ground against the Wicked Witch even when his legs tremble. His courage came from within.  The Wicked Witch, who scares everyone, shows the power of fear and how we must face it to move forward along our path. 

If we're lucky, we come to see that our own version of the yellow brick road is about the journey itself. It's the little every day moments, the people we meet, the challenges, the triumphs, and all of the things that show us the way to home within ourselves... to what we had all along. To the Wizard (inside) of Us.