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A few weeks ago, I happened to catch the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz.” Even though I have seen it numerous times, I found that this time I could not stop thinking about it. So I read the book “Secrets of the Yellow Brick Road: A Map for the Modern Spiritual Journey” by Jesse Stewart. I concluded that there are as many lessons to learn from this film now as when it was made.

In 2008, the economy began slowing, and by October consumer confidence fell to an all-time low. Since then, many of us have felt lost just as Dorothy was lost in the Land of Oz. Dorothy was in search of “somewhere over the rainbow” where life was good.

In the 1990s, increasing wealth seemed to be our right in America. Many people developed an obsession with wealth and continually wanted more of everything. In the movie, Dorothy met up with her companions and discovered they also had needs: The Scarecrow needed a brain, the Tin Man needed a heart, and the Lion needed courage.

The falling economy reflects the chain reaction of home values plummeting, the stock market collapsing and the nation’s lending capacity evaporating, causing a “fear factor” in us like the fear instilled in Dorothy by the Wicked Witch of the West.

Dorothy was caught between two worlds. When she was in dreary Kansas, she longed to be over the rainbow. When she was in Oz, she wanted to go home. The dilemma gave her an opportunity to find a new perspective and a new vision. The movie is about Dorothy trying to figure out where “home” is and how to get there.

Early in the movie, Glinda the Good Witch made it clear that Dorothy needed to follow the Yellow Brick Road. But Dorothy and her companions encountered many obstacles that threw them off the path, so getting home was difficult. As many analysts remind us today, the economy did not get this way overnight, and it will not be fixed overnight.

When they finally met the Wizard of Oz, he told Dorothy’s companions that they already possessed the qualities they sought. Then Glinda told Dorothy, “You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.” The Scarecrow asked, “Then why didn’t you tell her before?” Glinda said, “Because she wouldn’t have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.”

Many people tried to warn us that the good times we created by using credit could not last. Now we have to learn for ourselves how to get home. Just as Dorothy discovered, the power is within us, but we need to determine what home really is and how to get there. We need to follow the Yellow Brick Road with confidence and overcome our fears by using our hearts, heads and courage to refocus our priorities.

We have to start moving in the right direction now. As they neared the Emerald City, Dorothy and her friends said to each other, “Well, come on then. What are you waiting for?” “Hurry! Hurry!” “You can’t rest now – we’re nearly there.”

Jann Freed holds the Mark and Kay De Cook Endowed Chair in Leadership and Character Development at Central College in Pella.