I am so excited for you, for me, for us, that we're coming together like this in the AMHP program. I believe in you, I believe in me, and I believe in the work that we're doing and I'm asking you to travel our yellow brick road together.

I believe that together we can effect positive change in our world and nothing is going to stop us in our attempt to do just that. You are a highly intelligent, well-trained person and you have the necessary God-given brains and talent to make a difference in people's lives.

Our Yellow Brick Road

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Wizard of Oz. It really is a window into our lives as we live them and the opportunities we give the dark side to rule over us. The entire story is about our pollyanna hero, Dorothy, trying to find her way back home after a tornado ravages her uncle's farm, and she finds herself in a strange land with some very inventive creatures. She sets out on her journey of discovery with much fear, and all alone.

Along the way she meets a few like-minded friends, each with their own flaws, each on their own personal path of discovery. They decide to stick together for support and with the help of friends each finds what they are looking for. Each one of them believed that what they lacked was something to be found outside of themselves. Each of them was proven wrong and the power of love is revealed.

Healing Together

The Lion thought he was missing courage and found it within himself when The Wizard pinned a medal on his chest. He had it all the time.

Scarecrow made a convincing case that he was missing a brain so the Wizard gave him an honorary PhD in Thinkology. That was enough for Scarecrow to begin reciting geometry theorems, and all it took was a worthless piece of paper and a title to give him the confidence to unleash what he already possessed.

The heartless Tin-Man was once a real woodsman. Cursed by a wicked witch he slowly lost his real body and it was replaced with metal parts. Dorothy convinced The Wizard to give him a heart so he could feel emotion and so he did. Tin-Man "fixed" internally with yet another external stimuli!

Unrelenting in her malevolent evil, the Wicked Witch captured the big castle with fear and intimidation, completely capturing the minds of those flying monkeys. They were so consumed with fear even the audience believed the monkeys were evil, until Dorothy killed the witch with a simple pail of water, then the monkeys celebrated their freedom. A bucket of water...

Then there's clueless, but sweet, Dorothy. Like the others she suffered through the adventure only to discover the true power she had all the time. She could have clicked her heels and gone home anytime she wanted to!

How Can We Help Each Other?

The wheels are coming off our profession, or if you like, there's a giant tornado tearing up the country-side and something is terribly wrong. I'm not a flying monkey and neither are you so let's not act like captured souls. Together we can do this. Together we have power. Real evil is never as impenetrable as it appears and always withers in the face of Truth, and strength. That strength comes from numbers and we have that on our side, don't we.

Scarecrow's friends didn't run off and leave him when he was torn to pieces; they hung around and put him back together, provided a community of support, and that's what we have to do for each other. So pick yourself up and join the group as we help each other on our personal journeys, win back our castle, and find our way back home.

We got this.