A kiss is not just a kiss.

Since the previous post ended with a kiss, it is only fitting that this post continues with a reflection on the kiss.  While some criticize the use of such a device because they deem it a cheap and over-used literary trick, I side with those who say that such a device is a traditional symbol in telling the story of a heroic journey.

Unlike the mark of Cain that cursed him on his journey, a mark placed by the hero’s mentor is meant to tell the world that this person has been blessed and is in essence, off limits.

That doesn’t mean that the hero is not going to be challenged or even tempted and tormented by evil-doers, it is basically a warning to the evil-doer to tread very carefully.

Dorothy, like most of us, is not aware that she has been blessed with a special kiss that becomes a mark on her forehead. However, she can’t help but feel fortified by this kiss. Her fears might not have been kissed away, but she has not been paralyzed. She’s willing to take that first step on the yellow brick road.

Oz movie fans are familiar with the scene of Dorothy stepping foot on the yellow brick road. It is an iconic moment. But, how many of us stop and think about how and why the yellow brick road began right then and there where Dorothy landed?

Is it a coincidence? Or does it simply mean that there is a similar place in all four of the sections of Oz?

Lancelot, of Round Table fame, encouraged his fellow knights to embark on a journey. In this case the journey was to start at the edge of a deep-dark forest. Today there would have been a specific starting point where all travelers were expected to enter the forest.

That’s not what Lancelot had in mind.  He told the knights that each of the knights was to enter the forest at that place meant for him and him alone. In other words, we all need to begin our journey at out starting point, not where anyone else starts their journey.

Dorothy was starting her journey where her unique journey was meant to begin. It was no coincidence that Dorothy’s Yellow Brick Road was where it was.

All too often we don’t follow our Yellow Brick Road.

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You’re not in Kansas anymore.

Most classical heroic journeys begin with a call that more often than not is ignored.  But in Dorothy’s case there was no external call that she could refuse to answer.  I believe that is the case for most of us.  Instead of a call, we get catapulted into our journey.

In Oz, the book, the twister was the mechanism. A natural phenomenon with supernatural consequences. It took Dorothy out of her gray life and plopped her right in the middle of a world bursting in color.

The fact that the vehicle that transported Dorothy from Kansas to Oz landed on a force of evil made her journey that much more complicated. Had she made a soft landing in a field of flowers, Dorothy’s journey would not have been life-altering enough.

Although Dorothy didn’t have the proverbial mean bone in her body, her goodness had never been challenged. As is the case for most mere mortals.

The forces of evil were to play an important role in Dorothy’s journey.

When Dorothy was greeted by a woman, described in the book as an older woman whose “face was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked rather stiffly.” The first ting she said after welcoming her to Oz was to thank her for killing the Wicked Witch of the East. She didn’t hesitate to say that she had freed them from the bonds that held them as slaves to the witch. She also told Dorothy that she was the good witch from the north.  (Keep in mind that she was not Glinda. More on that later in the heroes journey.)

We are all held in bondage of some sort, and the only way to shake off the bonds is to go on the journey. But, unless the journey has a destination or purpose it is not a journey.

Dorothy’s gut reaction to her unsettling surroundings was to get home.  Told to put on the silver slippers (I’m talking about the book here), the Good Witch of the North tells her “sorry kiddo, but there’s no way you can get out of here. You’ll have to stay with us.” (That’s what she said, more or less.)

According to Oz the book this is what transpired:

Dorothy began to sob at this, for she felt lonely among all these strange people. Her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted Munchkins, for they immediately took out their handkerchiefs and began to weep also. As for the little old woman, she took off her cap and balanced the point on the end of her nose, while she counted “One, two, three” in a solemn voice. At once the cap changed to a slate, on which was written in big, white chalk marks:

“LET DOROTHY GO TO THE CITY OF EMERALDS”

The little old woman took the slate from her nose, and having read the words on it, asked, “Is your name Dorothy, my dear?”

“Yes,” answered the child, looking up and drying her tears.

“Then you must go to the City of Emeralds. Perhaps Oz will help you.”

“Where is this city?” asked Dorothy.

“It is exactly in the center of the country, and is ruled by Oz, the Great Wizard I told you of.”

“Is he a good man?” inquired the girl anxiously.

“He is a good Wizard. Whether he is a man or not I cannot tell, for I have never seen him.”

“How can I get there?” asked Dorothy.

“You must walk. It is a long journey, through a country that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes dark and terrible. However, I will use all the magic arts I know of to keep you from harm.”

And then:

The Good Witch of the North came close to Dorothy and kissed her gently on the forehead. Where her lips touched the girl they left a round, shining mark, as Dorothy found out soon after.

Let the heroic journey begin.

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