The Poppy Field

Sometimes I feel like Dorothy on a magical journey to the Emerald City; the place in which all inequities are balanced. I wake up and find myself in a strange place, surrounded by the unfamiliar. I am told to follow the yellow brick road. In this world the yellow brick road represents the path one is to follow to arrive at their ultimate goal. 

I look around and no one wishes to take the journey. The munchkins are content in their protected land and Glenda disappears into a bubble. Where does one find such a magic bubble? I’d like one. But alas, I am destined to place my feet upon the path and trudge into the unknown.

 

As I follow the bricks, the path splits and I take the best possible route according to my intuition. Granted, my intuition seems a bit off since I’ve arrived in Oz. But I continue my descent. In the most unlikely places I find allies willing to join the expedition. Sure they all have their own motivations for the cause, and that’s fine. The important thing is that I have company.

As we travel I notice we all have imperfections. We’re a band a misfits striving for a greater cause. We seem to have little in common, until adversity blinds us in the midst of a field of poppies. At that point it becomes obvious that we have the same mission. First of all, survive. Secondly, progress. It does not matter what we believe or what our short comings are. We must band together to achieve our objective. And so we endure and finally see the ethereal glow of the Emerald City. We have arrived!

Alas, we get to the gate after following the road that should have led us to our goal, and we are turned away. We do not understand. We are bewildered, angered and bitter.

In the end we all know what happens. They rally together and press on. Dorothy defeats the witch and returns home. Of course she’s told that she had the power to return home all along with the simple click of her heals. I admit. I’ve tried that. It doesn’t work. I’m just grateful no one was around to witness it. But I digress…

So we’ve all seen the movie. But, what if the tin man, the scarecrow, the lion and Dorothy turned on one another? Would they have defeated the witch? Would the tin man have received a heart, the lion courage, and the scarecrow a brain? Would Dorothy have ever made it home? I guess the moral of the story is to always press on, together, regardless of arduous trek ahead. The trick is to unite and not fall for the shortcut through the poppy field.

I think we might be stuck in the poppy field. Anyone getting sleepy?