If only I could find courage, a brain and my heart

In honour of Halloween, I guess it seems only fitting to start my next blog referring to a bunch of lost souls out searching along a yellow brick road. Over the years, I’m sure more than a few children have dressed up as one or two of the characters from The Wizard of Oz.

Quite honestly, I think I’ve felt like several of them this fall. Maybe even all at once. If only I had a brain, the scarecrow yearned. If only I had my courage, the lion dreamed. If only I had a heart, the tin man wished. And they set off on that journey together, looking for what they did not have.

If you’ve read my previous blog, you’ll know at one point this summer, it may have been mentioned that I didn’t have a brain. Fortunate, as one cannot have a concussion with no brain to concuss. I can sympathize with the scarecrow. A brain is precious and unique to each individual. Please take care of yours; treasure it, train it, feed it, protect it. Most of all, be grateful for the power of thought.

Pick up your courage. You may feel like the lion, unsure where it has gone, or if you ever had it to begin with. I promise you it is there, if only you’d just dig a little deeper for it. Mine came out as a cape last week, in full Halloween array, jumping 1.92m to complete our show season for the year. Wonder Woman is a powerhouse female and in hindsight it was fitting symbolism to dress up as her for my costume (thank you Reina). One must go boldly in the direction of their dreams.

And then there’s the heart. A fickle thing, the heart is. It can feel too much, hurt too much, ache too much. Yet, where would we be without it? Somewhere in my state of exhaustion these last few weeks, I think I closed mine off to outside world. I remember hearing about the Pittsburgh shooting that took place this past weekend and thinking it was soul wrenching. And then I remembered that I barely felt anything at all. Closing your heart off isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s necessary, if only in short amounts of time, to help cope. But what happens if you forget to open it up again? You’ll end up like the tin man and have no heart at all. In which case you may need to pull out some grease and get it turning again, however creaky it starts out. Just don’t leave it so long that it rusts itself shut completely. Above all, it is our heart that keeps us true to ourself.


Wherever you may be in your search; whether it be for a brain, courage, your heart, (...or that feisty female to walk down the road with) start moving. That yellow brick road isn’t going to be any shorter if you’re still standing still. Whatever you do though, don’t forgot to take your trusty Toto along for the journey.

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