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August 19, 2007

Surrender Dorothy . . . Visible, Valuable, and Mighty

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 6:26 am

I've been thinking . . .

about surrendering.

In the Wizard of OZ when Dorothy and her companions — The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodsman, and The Cowardly Lion — leave the Wash and Brush Up Shop in the Emerald City, they see the Wicked Witch of the West use her broom to write these words across the sky.

SURRENDER DOROTHY

Anyone, who’s seen the movie or read the books, knows that Dorothy was dreaming the story and that the characters were people from her life. You could say that, like the rest of us, Dorothy was solving a problem in her unconscious while she slept. That thought makes me wonder . . .

What if Dorothy’s mind was talking TO her, not ABOUT her.

The original phrase was intended to be “Surrender Dorothy or Die, WWW.”

Surrender or Die.

Since I was so very short, the word surrender has meant failure. I’ve only now begun to see it as something brave.

I think of the struggles I’ve fought to prove myself. It’s been a continuous battle to keep from giving myself away. So many times I held my ground, when no one was trying to take it. How could I see that, when I didn’t look in their direction? Championing my needs — to feel visible, valuable, and mighty — was a full-time job. It seemed a good fight.

Surrendering is harder than fighting.

Surrender? Never.

To surrender I have to lay down the defense that protects me. If I let go, I can’t lean on my pain. I can’t lean on my past. I can’t rely on them to explain when I wasn’t at my best. I’m back to learning about life again. Risks.

Surrendering is easier than fighting.

Sure, some fool, some jerk could rush in to knock me down, but they do that anyway. I’m not an inexperienced child. I can choose how close to let them come.

To me it only makes sense that to give up the fight, Dorothy had to make friends with courage, heart, and brains.

“Surrender Dorothy.”

“There’s no place like home.”

Courage, heart, and brains. OZ let us know we all have them. Can we bear to believe that we’re visible, valuable, and mighty?

Surrender myself.

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17 Comments to “Surrender Dorothy . . . Visible, Valuable, and Mighty”

  1. August 19th, 2007 at 8:05 am
    jon said

    for very many reasons, I agree completely. What comes first to mind is the prayer attributed to saint Francis (Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace…). It pushes us toward surrendering our agenda (not so much to be understood as to understand).

    Thanks for the reminder this morning.

  2. August 19th, 2007 at 8:08 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Jon!
    not so much to be understood as to understand. . . . exactly.

    The beauty is that if we understand, we seem to be understood more often.

    This one took days to write. :)

  3. August 19th, 2007 at 9:23 am
    Laura Athavale Fitton said

    Thank you Liz for taking the days to get it down on “paper,” and Jon for tweeting about this. Needed it.

  4. August 19th, 2007 at 9:28 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Laura!
    How wonderful to see you. It was a quest to get it down “on paper.” It was something I had to figure out. :)

    I’m delighted that you and Jon have found value in it as well.

  5. August 19th, 2007 at 10:00 am
    Zakman said

    Of course surrendering is a win-win situation.

    It just means no more harm can come to you; no one or nothing can hurt you any more.

    It’s the threshold where you see begin seeing a point to shed your old skin and relax. And make progress.

    It’s never humiliating to surrender.. just being humble when you lay down the arms. It’s like saying, “Alright, bro. You have the knife. I don’t. Take what you want.”

    Sometimes it doesn’t even have to be a thief you’re surrendering to. It could be your best friend.

  6. August 19th, 2007 at 10:12 am
    Vernon Lun said

    Liz, I loved this post.

    So if the wind blows and the tree bends, did it surrender? Probably, by doing so, it become harmonious with all that was around it.

    Vernon

  7. August 19th, 2007 at 10:12 am
    Codswallop said

    When dealing with people it’s a virtue to know how to surrender. You never become the enemy, you can be counted on as a team player and 95 times out of a 100 it’s the best strategy. But if you want to keep your soul and lead the way, you must stand for yourself when it counts. Conquer the hill, but always, always do it in an elegant and respectful way.

  8. August 19th, 2007 at 10:18 am
    Zakman said

    Hi Codswallop,

    I agree!

    “Conquer the hill, but always, always do it in an elegant and respectful way.”

    Whatever you do, do it in style.

    Even surrendering.

  9. August 19th, 2007 at 10:46 am
    ME Strauss said

    Zakman!
    Those are wise words. You’re right surrending is about progress, not humiliation. It’s about knowing what is your own and what is not. :)

  10. August 19th, 2007 at 10:47 am
    ME Strauss said

    Vernon,
    I do so love that you brought the thoughts of bending in the breeze and harmony to this conversation.

    You always add beauty.

  11. August 19th, 2007 at 10:49 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Codswallop!
    if you want to keep your soul and lead the way, you must stand for yourself when it counts.

    I agree about the respectful way, but standing for yourself is what stood out for me most. :)

  12. August 19th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
    Anna said

    wow. very powerful post.

    I dont know if I agree that surrender means “no one or nothing can hurt you anymore” . . . life hurts. But I think it does mean becoming comfortable with who you really are - who you are meant to be, which makes you stronger when the hurts come.

    Also, knowing who you are helps to know which hills are worth dying for.

  13. August 19th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Anna!
    In a way, surrender can mean that nothing can hurt you, without your choosing. . . ., but I agree that things still hurt only in different ways. That’s my take. :)

    I guess that’s my translation of getting comfortable with who you are. I call that finding your feet. :)

  14. August 19th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
    GP said

    wow.. quoting from my all time favorite movie, probably because every year i watched it i saw something “new”. I remember asking my father what that ominous word in the sky Surrender meant
    And every year depending on where I was on my “path”, I’d relate more to one character than another. Guess I always needed to hearsomething

    A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.

    gp in montana

  15. August 19th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi GP!
    I had the same response to the movie . . . it was years before I realized that the same guy played all of the “OZ” characters. Every year a new layer was revealed. I was just hinking today how much fun it must have been to work on tht production.

    Yes, a heart is a vessel made for receiving. :)

  16. August 20th, 2007 at 8:25 am
    Anna said

    Had a black and white tv until i was 12 or so and never understood the horse of a different color joke until color was added - also never got the full contrast between kansas and Oz until then!

  17. August 20th, 2007 at 8:50 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Anna!
    It was the same for me!! I never got the horse of a different color joke either!! . . . in fact it’s the first visual of OZ I have imprinted in my brain. :)

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