“No, she had to find it out for herself.” – Glinda the Good Witch, The Wizard of Oz
My go to movie when I’m feeling low, but don’t want to wallow, is The Wizard of Oz. I find myself relating to absolutely every character when I’m at my lowest point aka: when all at once I feel stupid, lacking the nerve to do anything, like I’m missing part of my heart, and like wherever I am is not where I want to be. I watch this movie, not only because it’s a childhood favorite that’s transcended into adulthood, but because all of those characters get exactly what they want at the end, and it gives me hope that eventually I too will have a brain, a heart, a home, and the nerve.
That said, every time I watch the movie, I think what truly helps is that I’m appeasing some part of my inner child that often gets neglected.
I won’t deep dive into the whole “inner child” business, been there and done that, but the only thing I will add is that your inner child isn’t just you at age 5 – you are still a child at even 15, or 17, so keep that in mind for future reference. It shouldn’t just be the baby child version of you that you’re appeasing, but even the inner teen needs some TLC too. Some times the teen needs even more attention.
NYE has always been weird for me – I either go all out, or quite literally do nothing. This year, I had planned to do absolutely nothing because I had an early flight to LA scheduled on Jan 1st for work. There is no way in hell I would risk missing a flight. I planned to hunker down in my apartment solo, and patiently wait for the Harry Potter reunion to drop on HBO, I’d watch it and cry, then go to bed.
I had it all planned out – and then, COVID cancelled my event. Since it was such a last minute cancellation, my colleagues and I didn’t even think twice before we decided to throw a party in the office. Last minute plans in NYC on NYE? Dream on. This was the easiest way to go, and it was great.
At some point in the night, we all did the casual, “So what are your New Year’s resolutions?” Going around the table yada yada, the first girl said, “Oh go to the gym more,” then it gets to me and I have this millisecond debate of making something up or being honest – to be transparent, in these situations where I’m put on the spot I always make something up, I don’t know why… low key impulsive liar? idk – but instead this time I shake my head and simply say that I have none.
Of course, I get a chorus of ‘why?’ but then I explain, “Every year I set them, even go as far as to write them down in special journals etc., and every year without fail I typically don’t meet those goals. I just don’t. That said, I do have goals and mile markers in general that I meet without fail, but this year I just decided not to put pressure at the start of the year, what’s the point?”
Sure enough, when it gets to the next person and the next person, they admitted they technically didn’t have “resolutions” set either. I couldn’t help but wonder, if I would have lied, like I often do when put on the spot, would they have lied too? Who knows.
That all said, I have decided on three goals specific to this year: be more deliberate, have a bit more nerve, and enjoy where I am.
Summed up in one goal: be a little less Dorothy, and a lot more Lion.
Peachy Keen Collective 