The Oz Syndrome – Quest for Success or Quest for God?

My friend was so earnest. It was clear that she truly believed what she was saying. “You’ve got to have faith! With faith in Him, it’ll happen. Put yourself in His hands; God will take care of you.” She equated her personal success to her faith in God. I wanted to ask how that was workin' out for her.

Denny and I just looked at each other and smiled. For more than three years Jennifer has been struggling to realize her dream of running a non-profit arts program for kids, to help fill in the gap left when government school funding began disappearing (thanks, Pres. Obama). During that time she filed for the non-profit status required and ran up against the IRS brick wall because of a snafu on her home mortgage loan.

Her home is in danger of being repossessed because she lost her job about the same time she spent the dollars she thought she had, to apply for non-profit status. Her mortgage company jerked her around and now she’s in litigation and a class-action suit against them.

Jennifer still believes God will take care of her. Since 2007 she’s had multiple business and personal associates who have drained her of energy and dollars. I kept my mouth shut today. Believe me, that was a major accomplishment.

I’ve tried to believe in “God.” In fact, I looked for “God” in Baptist, Protestant, Catholic, and Lutheran religions. Then took a peek at Buddhism and Confucianism … suffice it to say, I was seeking the “man behind the curtain.” After years of disappointment, I dubbed my quest the new definition of the Oz Syndrome. 

The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind … and it always comes back to me.

Me … you … we … already have the answer. We are God. God is our inner strength. Our Soul … our Spirit … our Essence … whatever you want to call it. Of course, that's just my humble opinion.

Viewed in a logical, pragmatic way, there is no God as deemed so by the religions that embrace the definition of an almighty – but ethereal – being. At least not that we are privy to know on Earth. Perhaps we’ll learn all the mysteries of life in the afterlife (presuming of course, that exists). 

Supposedly, “God” gave us brains, which include reasoning and logic. (Yeah I know … logical behavior isn’t prevalent in society, unfortunately. We definitely abuse our brains.) Logic does not however, equate to religion and unquestionable faith. 

 
Is it logical that the Bible should be so revered, when it is known to have been written by many people over approximately 1,400 years, about events that began hundreds of years prior, and spans nearly 4,000 years? If they happened at all? Isn’t that what we call mythology?

Is it logical that a great and powerful God should allow us to wreak such havoc on ourselves as the violence and crimes against each other have evidenced since the beginning of man? Granted, he (supposedly) created us to think for ourselves, and thus, we have brought about our own destruction – but he also is said to have created us “in his own image.” Is that a physical image, or mental image, or both? And if mental – wow – he (or she) is as screwed up as we are! 

I am OZ … the Great and Powerful! … Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! 

For many thousands of years we have had religious leaders who held themselves above the masses. And yet, are they nothing more than “the man behind the curtain”? They certainly have been shown of late, not to be the irrefutably honorable and pious beings we were once led to believe. So now what? What’s left of the ragged edges of today’s religion?

You … Me … Our Inner Strength. If we can’t believe in ourselves and our own ability to create the life we want – who or what can we believe in?

I don’t presume to have all the answers. I only have answers for me. It’s obvious we came from “somewhere” – but I can’t logically buy the Adam and Eve theory. And I’m reluctant to follow the “evolved from the ocean” premise. Our bodies and brains however, are remarkable and I do believe, that we even exist is a miracle.

However we got here – whether through natural phenomena or a spiritual being (I’d argue my favorite theory of alien visitation, but then … where did the aliens come from?) – we’re here. And what we make of ourselves and do with the all-too-brief time we spend on Earth has nothing to do with faith in a god. It has everything to do with faith in oneself.


That doesn’t mean “if you believe you can achieve.” Along with faith in your strength, determination, and acumen to succeed, pure dumb luck – right place, right time; who you know, not what you know – also has much to do with success. Is “God” behind the luck factor? Maybe … I’m not ruling that out. But I know a lot of people who believe with all their being in a god, yet still wallow in poverty and misery.

And I cringe when motivational “experts” and spiritual “counselors” accuse us of sabotaging our own success with negative thoughts and beliefs. We can give everything in our conscious power (and meditative power) to maintain the attitude and fortitude to accomplish something – but we cannot control every event in our lives that impact us. Other people and forces (mysterious or otherwise) can negatively influence our dreams and goals – even our existence – no matter how much we try to deflect them.

There is no magic answer to personal success. Whatever your dream is, you simply have to believe that somehow, someway, it’ll all come together, with your inner strength as the catalyst. Follow your instincts to create a logical path … and hope it works. Give the credit to a god if you must, but …

The Wizard of Oz is not a god. He is a man behind the curtain. One however, with the wisdom to know that what you seek, you already have. Thank you, Mr. Baum.

Look within.