Follow the Yellow-Brick Road

Almost exactly a year ago I wrote a blog about following the yellow directional arrows (flechas amarillas in Spanish) that help one stay on the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage way that leads to the Cathedral of Saint James (“Santiago” in Spanish) in Santiago de Compostela, a regional capital in northwestern Spain. Today, however, the pilgrimage I refer to is less religious and more the stuff of popular culture, as you’ll see in a moment...

A few months ago, a young scientist with a doctorate asked me as someone who had written a half dozen books on popular wisdom, what single piece of advice I could give her on how to become a wiser person. My mind went not to the Pilgrimage of the Camino but rather to The Wizard of Oz. Specifically, I quoted to this scientist the Munchkins’ advice to Dorothy, newly transported by a user-friendly tornado into a strange, other-worldly realm: “Follow the Yellow-Brick Road.” Okay, well and good. But how do you do that, plus when was the last time you heard of “a user-friendly tornado”?

​My mind now goes to the Irish blessing that begins, “May the road rise to meet you and the wind blow gently at your back….” And speaking of wind, as a recent graduate of the Episcopal Church’s four-year Education for Ministry lay program in Christian theology, I’m reminded that the Biblical Greek for Holy Spirit is pneuma hagion, literally holy wind or breath, or even more literally, holy suction. In this regard I think of those little pneumatic mailing tubes banks use to send money and receipts back and forth between cashiers and their drive-up customers. These tubes are not pushed but pulled back and forth. And come to think of it, wind does not blow either but is also sucked by the lower-pressure area from the higher. All things considered, I guess “wind” is the more felicitous term than “suction”! Furthermore, there is an English-language Christian anthem called “Lead Me in Thy Spirit’s Tether.” The idea here is that the Holy Spirit guides individuals also by pulling, not pushing. And finally there’s a Blue Grass hymn that goes—"Life is like a mountain railroad/With an engineer so brave./We must make our run successful/From the cradle to the grave./Watch the curves, the fills, the tunnels./Never falter, never fail./Keep your hand upon the throttle/And your eye upon the rail….” And trains too are pulled.

Fine, but how does one find the mystical engine to draw one in desirable directions as, for example, how does one learn to make good decisions? My response: (1) Have and often repeat an intention along the lines of “Please show me the way to become my biggest and best self.” (2) Do some kind of regular meditation or other spiritual practice to get out of your head. (3) Per Joseph Campbell, “Follow your bliss.” That is, find things you like to do, almost always things you’re good at, and people you like to be with. Then look for job opportunities that enable you to do the things you like and be with people you enjoy being with. (4) Seek advice from individuals you like and trust, then follow it. Finally, (5) If things don’t work out, regroup and try something new. In short, look for and follow YOUR Yellow-Brick Road.

Well, at least it’s yellow. Dorothy’s brick version is copyrighted!