I believe everything happens for a reason.

This past Christmas morning I woke up earlier than I expected. After I checked the time and muttered, “Why am I awake so early,” I scrolled the television channels in search of something to watch. To my astonishment “The Wiz” was on, which made me happy. I was excited to see the movie was relatively close to the beginning. Dorothy had arrived in Munchkinland where Miss One encouraged her to follow the yellow brick road to meet the Wiz. This is significant to me because it is the scene right before Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, which is one of my (many) favorite scenes.

“The Wiz” was made in 1978, which was over 40 years ago, and I cannot begin to tell you how many times I’ve watched it. So, I was amazed when I learned a valuable lesson from watching it recently.

Before Dorothy formally meets the Scarecrow, she witnesses the daily encounter between him and the crows. In a nutshell, the crows tell the Scarecrow he isn’t smart and he can’t get down from the pole—and he believes them. It wasn’t until Dorothy ran the crows away and encouraged the Scarecrow to come down off the pole that he realized the only thing stopping him from “living it up” on the ground were the crows. Dorothy’s statement to the Scarecrow resonated within me.

“You’re just a product of some negative thinking…they told you you couldn’t do it and you believed them.”
Dorothy Gale - “The Wiz”

How often do we allow negative words to stop us from doing things or even stop us from being ourselves? Unfortunately, sometimes the negative words that stop us come from within. I am guilty of succumbing to both of these scenarios.

Fear and doubt have been on my mind for quite some time. Not only have I been thinking about fear and doubt, I have been experiencing them too and I want to encourage all of us to overcome these robbers of peace. And a good starting point is to stop listening to the crows—no matter who they are.

Attribution: “The Wiz” Motown Productions (1978)

Director: Sidney Lumet