YELLOW BRICK ROAD

This episode of "Open Minded" discusses the journey of life using the analogy of "The Wizard of Oz." The host, Papa Soap, talks about how unexpected circumstances can turn our world upside down, but we must find the courage and heart to keep moving forward. He emphasizes the importance of gaining knowledge from our experiences and not letting obstacles hinder our progress. He also mentions how people and negative influences can try to hold us back, but we must overcome them and never give up. The host shares his personal experiences and encourages listeners to take that first step towards their goals. He concludes by reminding them that they are warriors and to never let anyone define their worth. Thank you, thank you, thank you, welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of Open Minded and I am your host, Papa Soap. So, I don't know if any of y'all have seen or remember seeing this movie called The Wizard of Oz. It was very interesting that I bring up that movie, The Wizard of Oz. It's a story about a girl named Dorothy who is swept away, her whole world was turned upside down by a voracious, vicious tornado and landed into a far off distant land, a place that was unseen, a place that she had never heard of or experienced and I'm pretty sure some of y'all can relate to having your world turned upside down by unforeseen circumstances. So anyway, as the movie goes on, as the story goes on, she is traveling down this yellow brick road with a final destination way off in the distance and as she travels down this yellow brick road, she finds a lot of things about herself and she tends to pick up things in life and in no direct order, she picks up the lion who wants courage, so she picks up a little bit of courage to go on to this journey and then she comes across the Tin Man who just wants to have a heart and just love and we can all relate to those top two things there and anything that's happened in our life right now that just seems unbearable and unforeseen circumstance and unforeseen situation, we want to try to find the courage to thrive, to deal, to survive and the cool thing about having the Tin Man, the heart is that you want to be able to, you want to be able to have that passion, that courage, that desire, that strong will to push through, to get through that and so you're not going to let anything get in your way, you're not going to let anything stop you because your heart that you have everything in, it's not going to allow you to stop, so you're going to have the courage to go with your heart and keep trekking, keep trolling, keep rolling down this yellow brick road and you know when we go down this yellow brick road, there's things that we experience, things that we come across and things that happen in life that gives us a little bit of pause, reflection, sometimes motivation, but all in all those experiences gives us the scarecrow, knowledge, the brain of this whole adventure where you gain knowledge and you have the power of the knowledge that you gained over the experiences that you have and while you're trekking on this yellow brick road, on this journey, you have to build and find the courage and the heart and compassion never to give up and through the experiences you gain knowledge by using your brain and while you're on this journey and you know when things are starting to look good and things are starting to look bright and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, oh, oh, oh, that wicked witch, that wicked witch, she wants to hinder you, she wants to slow you down, you know they say and the Bible says Satan is here to steal, to kill, and destroy. That's what he's here for, he's here to seek to steal, kill, and destroy your hopes, your aspirations, your mission in life, hinder, or even completely stop you on your journey, but you already know that you've got the courage to stand up to that wicked witch, you have the heart and compassion not to give up when things get hard, when things tend to trip you up, and even though you have that momentary pause where the wicked witch sprinkles the sleeping dust to put Dorothy and all of her attributes to sleep, that is a roadblock, yes, that's a hindrance, that's a stumbling block, but the cool thing about a roadblock, the cool thing about a stumbling block is you have the courage to move and say move, get out the way, climb over that hindrance, seek to get through that distraction, because nothing's gonna stop me, I'm all the way up, be kind of like the Jeffersons moving on up to the east side, whatever analogy you want to use, ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low, to stop you from getting where you're trying to go, and as we continue on this yellow brick road of life, we understand that the wicked West, not the wicked West, the wicked witch of the West, no, the wicked witch is not going to do what you think that wicked people normally do, well, dag nabbit, they succeeded, they got past my obstacle, they got past my hindrance, they got past my roadblock, I'm gonna give up now, no, they don't do that either, people in their lives, they want to see you fail, they want to see you fail, they want to see you fall, and when people say, and when they think that, when you fail, because you fail, let me say that again, people think that you fail, F-A-I-L, when you fall, and the cool trip thing about that, I love commercials, don't you love commercials, you know, we gotta pay the bill there, thank you, Liberty Mutual, step it, when they see that you fail, because you fail, and they feel like there's no way for you to stand up, there's no way for you to get up, shock them, surprise them, get up, dust your stuff off, because there's a song I used to sing in church back in the day, and the words go, trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes, so much trouble, trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes, I lay awake at night, but that's all right, because as for me, I know that Jesus, Jesus will fix it, Jesus will, I use this analogy in church, GPS, now when you think GPS, you're thinking, oh, that's that program that's on my phone or on my car that guides me and positions me to be successful where I'm trying to travel to, in a sense, yes, but the GPS and the way that I use it, God provides solutions to any problems out there, and as we learned with Dorothy, there were some solutions that was provided for her, not trying to get all biblical and religious on you, we're definitely not going to hit you with the political side of any conversation, but that's what our world is encased in, that's what we're enthralled in, that's what we're involved in, and that's what you hear every time you turn on the TV, when you turn on certain radio stations, or you sit at the coffee spot and you're hearing people having these conversations, it's about things of the world, and if you tuned in to listen to the things of the world, you're going to go deaf, if you tune into things that you see on the TV, you're going to go blind, not in a physical sense, but an emotional sense, an intellectual sense, a spiritual sense, there's a lot of ugliness, a lot of evil in the world that's going to try to hold you down, it's going to try to hinder you from moving forward on this yellow brick road, and it's one of those things that when you have the courage, and you have the heart and compassion, and you have the knowledge from the experience, to know that when these obstacles come, these obstacles will go, and when it feels like you're almost there, but you're almost reached that mountaintop, your destination, that light at the end of the tunnel is getting clearer and clearer, oh no, the wicked witch is at it again, satan is coming for you, hardcore, flying monkeys is up in this piece, robbing and stealing and destroying the things around you, taking away your joy, your inspiration, your motivation, your hope, which is causing anticipation, hesitation, frustration, and the wicked witch and satan giving you a declaration to say that you are nothing, you're nobody, you are going to fall, and when you fall, you're going to fail, and I will be there with my foot on the back of your neck holding you down, that one hits a little home for me, because personally I've been in those situations, to where when you fall flat on your face, and there's no way to look up, those situations when they happen in life, it gets hard, it's one of those things when you don't have control, and you lose control of those things, you lose control of your, of yourself, and it feels like there's no chance for tomorrow, and you feel stuck, and you have one of those WTF moments in life, but being who I am and being the bloodline that I come from, saying that I give up, was not a choice for me, sometimes I have to just sit there and revel in the poo-poo of life, the stinkiness that of the, of the crap that I'm sitting in, oh best believe, I'm going to get up, I'm going to dust it off, I'm going to wash it off, I'm going to come with a renewed spirit, a renewed passion that's been ignited, because of that witch, of Satan, those things in my life that says, you won't be successful, you will not succeed, you will not succeed, you will not move forward, and once you fail, you'll always be a failure, once you fall, you will never be able to get up, and I think the biggest thing for my life that I'm going to share, I'm going to take it personal with you, and I'm trying not to get emotional when I tell you this, but the worst thing that anybody's ever told me, other than the fact that they were disappointed in me, was the simple fact that I was told that I was a mistake, and I wish that you were never born, yeah, that happened to yours truly, no cap, that happened, and you would have thought, and I can only imagine what your thoughts are right now, like holy poop, holy crap, really, yeah, that happened, and it's one of those things that lives within you, and it's one of those things that you can't and it's one of those things that lives with me today, and I don't think about it much, but when I do the podcast, and I try to be an inspiration, and when I try to help those by giving a wonderful thought, a helpful thought, a motivational thought, whatever the case may be, sometimes it's coming from an experience that I've had in my own life, an experience that I've had with other people, an experience that I've had in a certain place, or an experience I've had with a certain thing, I don't talk to hear myself talk, I do this because I want to help, and if I can help one person, let them know that while you're traveling on this yellow brick road of life, that you can click your heels, let's say there's no place like home, now let's not get it twisted that we click our heels together, that everything is going to be all right, that everything is going to be okay, just because we click our heels together, and I'm all for that, click your heels, take a deep breath, take that moment, woosah, that's how we used to say, woosah, shout out to bad boys, and a few deep breaths and process what has taken place and what has been said, and then you know what, it's time to make a move, move, Linda says, when I move, you move, just like that, because you can't move, you can't go forward if you don't take a step, and that first step is the hardest step that you ever take after you fall, and after your wobbly legs are so wobbly when you make a stand, and when you finally get up and dust yourself off, and clean yourself off, rinse yourself off, and take a deep breath, and you're like, what is my next step? Your next step is to take a step, and when you take that first step, you'll be able to take another step, and then another step, and then another step, next thing you know, you're moving, you're no longer a failure, you're no longer unsuccessful, you're no longer a hindrance, a roadblock, you're no longer those things that's been holding you down, weighing you down, and making you feel like you're worth nothing, that you're not worth anything in life, you're stepping in the right direction to see a better picture of your own life, you're traveling this yellow brick road to know that at the end of this yellow brick road, there's love, there's hope, there's peace, there's understanding, there's compassion, there's anything that you want and desire in life, it's there at the end of that yellow brick road, not at the end of your life, but just at the end of this chapter, and maybe the end of the book, until it's time to write a new chapter, until it's time to write a new book, but you can look back when you make it to that destination, when you wake up from that horrible dream, when you wake up from that reality in your life, and you're like, Ma, Auntie Em, Pa, brother, sister, cousin, uncle, auntie, best friend, or even better yet, your reflection in the mirror, and you go through this whole experience that you've gone through, and you tell the story of how you had these struggles, and these hindrances, and these roadblocks, and these stumbling blocks, and these things that were holding you down when it was on the back of your neck, you were able to get up, you were able to take that first step. That right there is an awesome feeling, to take that first step, and when you're able to tell people that, hey, I took that step, how joyous that moment is for you. You're a triumphant. You're a warrior. Whether you're a king, or a queen, a princess, or a prince, no joke is here, but you're a warrior. You survived. You survived. But you're a warrior. You survived. And when you're telling your story, Auntie Em, this person was the scarecrow, this person was the tin man, and this was the lion, because I found my courage, I found the compassion, and the heart, and I had the wisdom to move on, and to get up and take that first step. And now, I've achieved the ultimate dream. Say, that I am home. I am home. Sorry for the long-windedness on this particular episode. Didn't mean to get a little emotional there, but it's just one of those things where I feel like this is going to help somebody. This is going to help somebody. And I hope, no matter what it is, no matter what it, whatever the case may be, know that you are not a failure. Know that you are a warrior. Don't let anybody's perception, don't let anybody's negative talk, stumbling blocks, and hindrances keep you from taking that step in the right direction. Keep you from taking that step in the right direction. That last part may have been incomplete, but that's okay. I'm good with it. I'm okay with that. But my favorite line, and I always mess it up, is from the movie The Help, where the maid was telling the little white girl, she was like, you are smart, you are kind, you are important. She said, say it, baby. I'm smart, I'm kind, I'm important. That is exactly what you are. Don't give up. Have the courage. Find it within yourself to gain that compassion, to have a heart, and the wisdom of the stuff that you've dealt with in the past to take that first step. And the rest of this travel on the yellow brick road, it's going to be a beautiful thing. That is the life that I live now. I'm still traveling on this yellow brick road, don't get me wrong, and it's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful place. The monkeys, I don't see them as much, but I know they're still there creeping, lurking in the background, just waiting to see if I'm going to trip up, waiting to see if I'm going to fall. Oh yeah, that Wicked Witch thing is still there. Believe you me. Still there creeping, lurking, waiting to steal, kill, and destroy. Still there creeping, lurking, waiting to steal, kill, and destroy. And the thing that sucks about that is, at the end of the day, the battle's already won. And when people lose, they want to bring people with them. But you picked up three important things in your life. You got the courage, you have the heart, and you have the wisdom to keep trekking down the yellow brick road. You go ahead, you big warrior, you go ahead, warrior princess, warrior king, warrior queen, warrior prince, because you're smart, you're important, you're kind. And as I always say, just a little something to think about. I'm your host, Papa Silk, and this has been another episode of Open-Minded. Peace, love, and hair grease. And I'm out.