Salman Rushdie Brings Fresh Eyes to a Hollywood Classic: The Wizard of Oz

"Now find yourself a place where you won't get yourself into any trouble."
--Auntie Em

* * * 

To my surprise and delight, this week I acquired a copy of Salman Rushdie's little volume about The Wizard of Oz, one of many great books written by various writers for the British Film Institute (BFI). The Nobel laureate begins by declaring this movie to be his very first literary influence, prompting him to write his first short story at the tender age of ten.

I've always know that for many of my generation the story of Dorothy's adventures in the land of Oz are interwoven in various ways with many of our personal life stories. The 1939 film classic did so-so at the box office that year, but with the advent of television in the 1950s it became an annual favorite in a nation filled with young families during the post-war years. As a youth it was a family tradition to watch Saturday Night at the Movies, with many film classics being in the rotation year after year.

Television sets were only black-and-white then, so most of us missed the most amazing feature of the film, the c0ntrast between Kansas -- dusty shades of grey -- and Oz, an explosive pallet of color. Only later, with the advent of color TVs, did we experience the full effect of this magical story. When I went to see it in a theater in college it was a most memorable occasion.

* * *

When Rushdie was contacted to select a film to write about for the BFI Film Classics series, choosing this one was an easy decision, based on the impact it had on his own life. To prepare, he not only studied the film itself and all the anecdotal legends surrounding the making of the movie (eg. Buddy Ebsen, who later became Jed Clampett in The Beverly Hillbillies, was the original scarecrow.) he also read all the L Frank Baum book that the film was based on, and its host of sequels.

A central premise of Rushdie's essay, which in my opinion he successfully defends, is that a driving force of the story is "the inadequacy of adults, even good adults."  Despite Dorothy's anguish regarding the threats of the spinster Miss Gulch, whom we re-encounter in Munchkinland as the Wicked Witch of the West, she's unable to feel safe or at peace because Auntie Em, Uncle Henry and the farmhands (the adults) are taken up with farm business. Her fear of losing her dog Toto impels her to seek refuge elsewhere. At which point Rushdie notes one of the striking insights I'd not considered before. 

At various times throughout my life I've reflected on the incantation Dorothy makes while clicking her ruby slippers at the climax of The Wizard of Oz. "There's no place like home, there's no place like home..." I've even written about this longing for home that resides in most of our hearts. But Rushdie delivers a contrarian pitch, which appears five minutes into this bigger-than-life story. 

Auntie Em has just told Dorothy to find a place where there isn't any trouble, and Dorothy ponders what kind of place that might be. This becomes the backdrop for the most famous song from this most famous movie, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

The song speaks of a place where dreams come true and "troubles melt like lemon drops." It ends with the wistful question, "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why, oh why, can't I?" 

 

Dorothy sings this song at a time of trouble in her life. The threat of losing something she loves, her precious dog Toto, looms over her. Life doesn't seem fair, but she feels powerless in this situation and decides to run away. 

The National Endowment for the Arts voted "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as the greatest song of the 20th century. It's not hard to understand why. The song Judy Garland sang as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz resonates with another of our deepest longings, quite contrary to the longing for home: this world is not my home, my truest home is somewhere else.

"At its beginning, the weaknesses of grown-ups force a child to take control of her own destiny (and her dog's). Thus, ironically, she begins the process of becoming a grown-up herself," Rushdie writes. In short, the movie is a "coming-of-age" genre film, though both spectacular and surreal. 

I was recently reading about the origins of the surrealist art movement of the 1920s and the Surrealist Manifesto by Andre Breton. A significant feature of this movement was its attempt to dive below the surface of the conscious mind into the ethereal subconscious, inspired most significantly by Sigmund Freud's work. Freud purposely published his Interpretation of Dreams in the year 1900 as a means of kicking off the new century with new understandings of the inaccessible deeper layers of the mind. Breton wrote about automatic writing and other techniques to achieve this. Dali's vivid paintings were intentional embodiments of this nether world.

Though there is no evidence that L. Frank Baum's Oz was influenced by Freud, it feels easy to connect the Hollywood version of the story to the notion that Oz may have been a concussion-dream, recycling Kansas faces as Oz characters, especially since it begins and ends in a bed. 

 

* * * 

I've never read the original Oz books, so Rushdie's inquisitive examination of the source material is insightful. For Baum, Kansas is a depressing place. Everything is grey as far as the eye can see. This grey wasteland has taken the sparkle out of Auntie Em's eyes, cheeks and lips and left them a sober grey. Uncle Henry never laughed and was grey, too. What's interesting to me is that Baum's books were written in the first decade of the century, whereas the film was released at the tail end of the Dust Bowl years which coincided with the Great Depression.

It's against this backdrop that Dorothy sings her poignant lament of a place where dreams come true and "troubles melt like lemon drops." It ends with the wistful question, "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why, oh why, can't I?" 

No wonder this song became so epic. Who has not, at one time or another, felt this sensation in which fear and hardship prod us to seek escape. (Another digression could be inserted here about the world's migrants who long for freedom and safety, who have envisioned America as such a place. Visit Ellis Island sometime if you are able.)

* * * 

For such a short volume Rushdie's book is packed with anecdotes, insights and thought-provoking observations. Part one, the first sixty pages, features the film itself. There is also a second essay, part two, that describes Rushdie's experience at an auction of Dorothy's ruby slippers.

Of all these things much more can be said. And if able, in another blog post I would like to touch on the significance of Judy Garland at the center of this film. Did you know that Shirley Temple was seriously considered for the role of Dorothy? Did you know that Judy Garland was born in Grand Rapids here in Northern Minnesota as Frances Ethel Gumm? 

To Be Continued

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Throwback Thursday: On Another World

August 2008

My daughter sent us an email sharing an unusual dream she'd had the other night about a purple bicycle that seemed alive, hunted people down and ran them over. It was like a horror movie, she said, but she found it "fun and scary at the same time."

What's interesting is that my wife noted how she does not dream in stories per se, but has more of a boring jumble of images, whereas I dream in the surreal story style that this dream epitomizes.

As early as seventh grade I found many of my dreams so interesting that I began keeping a journal of my dreams. In fact, I kept that up for six years and had hundreds of pages of details about my night life, which was far more interesting than school. (What I wouldn't give to put my hands on those documents today!) I could remember up to five dreams in detail.

Since that time I have occasionally recorded my dreams and sometimes turned them into short stories. Or, I simply share them as a form of thought provoking entertainment. Some have been quite unusual, each in its own way. Here is one such dream, recorded exactly as I dreamed it.

On Another World

In this dream I was being held captive on another planet. The people of this planet were in bondage to false ideas about God.

Early in the morning I was taken to a private meeting with the leader of this planet. We were alone in a large, circular unfurnished room. A single guard stood outside the open door.

By some means I had been paralyzed so that I could neither pray nor speak nor think straight. I was standing in the middle of the room in this strange, paralyzed state. I had no consciousness of the passage of time.

In the dream, Dr. Spock (of Star Trek fame) came to the door of the room and requested permission to enter. It is possible that I was captain of the Enterprise, though I do not know this for certain. I do know that I was from earth, as the following dialogue will attest. After obtaining permission, Spock entered the room carrying a bucket of what appeared to be a powdered cleanser. He stumbled and pretended to accidentally spill the cleanser on me. Immediately, I found myself released from my paralysis and I began praying, standing by a wash basin with my eyes closed. (It was one of those chrome sink basins that you find in painting studios at art school with multiple nozzles spraying water.) Upon seeing my fervent attempt to pray the leader of the planet was in stitches with laughter. He asked what I was doing.

I said I was praying to God.

"This is hysterical!" he said. "We would never pray to God like that," and he wanted to know how I got the notion that I could talk to God.

"God came to our planet once," I said.

"God came to your planet? What was God like?" The leader was suddenly interested in hearing this new thing. "What was God like?"

"He came to our planet as a human."

"A human? A weak, pitiful thing like that?" he sneered. "A human! God came to your planet as a human?"

"He took the form of a human, a man, actually, and lived on our world, on earth."

"And what happened?"

"We killed him," I said.

I woke.

Moon River

Moon River is one of those songs that grows on you over the decades. Written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's, it's a wistful, romantic ballad about longing, dreams, and the pursuit of freedom. In the film it's sung by Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, but it's had many covers that were equally transcendant. The lyrics evoke a journey of self-discovery and hope, with the "river" perhaps symbolizing life's unpredictable path shrouded by a light misty haze. 

The song reflects Holly's yearning for a better, more authentic life beyond her transient, glamorous facade, capturing themes of wanderlust, companionship ("my huckleberry friend"), and the search for belonging. Its gentle melody and poetic lyrics convey universal emotions of aspiration and vulnerability. 

The film itself (Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961), is based on Truman Capote's novella of the same name. Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly is a glamorous but enigmatic young woman in New York City who lives a carefree, socialite lifestyle while hiding her past as a runaway. She befriends Paul Varjak, a struggling writer and her new neighbor, who becomes captivated by her charm and mystery. As their relationship deepens, Holly’s guarded nature and pursuit of wealth clash with her desire for genuine connection. The story explores themes of identity, freedom, and love, culminating in Holly’s emotional journey toward self-acceptance, set against the backdrop of 1960s Manhattan. 

Reading and writing about this song makes me want to revisit the film, to see it with fresh eyes. May it one day come to pass.

* * *  

Meanwhile, here are three versions of the song--one by Audrey Hepburn from the film, a nice rendition by Elton John and a Frank Sinatra version after the lyrics.

Audrey Hepburn

Elton John

Moon river, wider than a mile

I'm crossing you in style someday  

Oh dream maker, you heartbreaker  

Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way 

Two drifters off to see the world

There's such a lot of world to see

We're after the same rainbow's end

Waitin' round the bend

My huckleberry friend

Moon river and me

Sinatra

Moon photo by Rui Marinho on Unsplash

Life Is Not A Spectator Sport: A Weekend Reflection

It's Jay Gatsby Month. 100 years ago, April 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was published by Charles Scribner's and Sons, so you may see his story pop up a few times in the next couple weeks.

[Spoiler Alert: All of these Gatsby references assume you already know the story.]

They say that cats have nine lives; we only have one. This singular chance at existence demands that we be more than passive observers. We can choose to sit and watch from the audience, or choose deliberate engagement with the world. The theme “Life is not a spectator sport”--a theme I've reiterated many times over the course of a lifetime--captures this urgency to step beyond the sidelines and shape our own stories through action and courage. 

Whether we're chasing dreams like Jay Gatsby, or standing against injustice as history’s rebels did, the essence of living lies in participation, not detachment. In one sense, this call to action is a plea for purpose, reminding us that life--fleeting and finite--gains meaning only when we dare to act, risk, and truly live.

This idea resonates deeply in literature and life, emphasizing courage, agency, and the pursuit of meaning through action.

In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is an embodiment of this theme. He's refused to remain a bystander in his own story. Born into poverty, he rejects the sidelines, reinventing himself as a wealthy man to win Daisy’s love. His relentless pursuit shows a life lived boldly, even if flawed. By way of contrast, Nick Carraway, the novel’s narrator, is the lingering spectator, observing Gatsby’s world with detachment. His passivity contrasts with Gatsby’s drive, suggesting that true vitality lies in taking risks, not just witnessing others’ dreams.

The story is more nuanced than that though. The picture Fitzgerald paints is more grim. The American Dream isn't all that it's cracked up to be. There's a power hierarchy in life. The lower classes believe in upward mobility. This is America, where anything is possible. What many don't see is that when you rise above your place,  you become a target. You're a clay pigeon thrust skyward and the uber-rich delight in taking potshots at you, shattering your illusions, putting you back in your place.

Even so, we're not advocating that you abandon your dreams. Quite the contrary. This is an appeal to take action, despite a possibility of frustration, futility and failure. The battle is not always to the strong nor the race to the swift, time and chance happen to them all.

In his song "Father and Son" Cat Stevens wrote this terribly sad line: "You may still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not." When we've abandoned our dreams, what is left? 

For all sad words of tongue and pen,
The saddest are these, 'It might have been.'

--John Greenleaf Whittier

A Pearl of Strings: Notebook Excerpts, Part One

In the early Nineties, when I was more single-mindedly devoted to writing fiction, I thought it might be usefl to sift through my previous years of journals to see what I might find that could be of use for future projects. It was not anentirely futile search, but it did surprise me how little of real value there was. 

Someone once wrote, "Writers’ journals are sacred chaos—raw, unpolished portals into the mind’s wild dance. Unlike polished novels or sculpted poems, these pages pulse with immediacy: scribbled doubts, half-formed dreams, and fleeting epiphanies snatched from the ether. They’re the writer’s petri dish, where ideas mate and mutate, unshackled by perfection’s glare." 

Virginia Woolf once called her diary a “capacious hold-all,” a space to wrestle demons and chase muses. For some, it’s a mirror; for others, a map through creative fog. What follows are a few excerpts from my 1980'a journals. I won't describe ay of this as "glimpses of genius in the rough" but I did find some fragments that might me considered stimulating or amusing.   

* * * 

A mind whose feet teetered under the weight of a thousand rickety tensions.

Sometimes life gets in the way of living.  

What do you demean by that?  

How'd they get so jaded?

Waisted Minds slogan: A Waist is a terrible thing to mind.

"Red is the soil of Burma, Red also are its cliffs." (from The Harp of Burma)

The great battle for significance is a battle against irrelevance.

"If I'm so successful, why am I so lonely?"

How to get blessed: Be a blessing.

Why are Texans so Austintatious?

Song of the Matrix

The Four Atomic Sons of Madame Fauvre [title]

Jimmy Johnson's Message to his team after Super Bowl Victory: "This feeling of love that you share right now you will have the rest of your lives."

A man who needs nothing can afford to risk everything.  

Freestyle Frost Flicker --> Name of Product for cleaning windows

"The melancholy of all things done." (Buzz Aldrin, after returning from moon)

"The footprints we left on the moon were not ours but were for all mankind." Aldrin

His blood turned to wine and sang through his veins.

Knitting his brows, he lapsed into an introspective state, his lips moving as one who uttered mystic nonsense.

"I'm gonna max out my Monkey card." (newspeak)

The Power Cafe (name of a restaurant)

* * * 

If you're a writer, do you keep a journal for capturing ideas and observations?

On This Day In History, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Was Published

Robert Burns tribute, Milwaukee

When I was in high school I vividly remember two John Steinbeck books that we read and studied, One was his masterful and memorable novel Grapes of Wrath, the second was this powerful novella Of Mice and Men.

What I most remember is the insightful manner in which our English teacher Mr Harris drew attention to certain details that Steinbeck purposefully embedded in this tale of the Joad family as they were forced to leave their homeland during the Dust Bowl years of the Great Depression,  (A special shout out to English teachers in general and Mr Harris specifically for his lifelong influence.)

Of Mice and Men is a tightly packed story of two migrant workers. The writing is sensitve, and vivid, the story heartbreaking. Published in 1937 it certified that Steinbeck was the real deal as far as writers go.

The two main characters are George and Lennie. It's themes include the meaning of friendship, isolation and the quest to experience the American Dream, a place of one's own. Like all quest stories there is the dream or objective, and there are the barriers or obstacles to be overcome, The pair are displaced ranch workers striving to escape their fate, George being quick-witted and protective, Lennie being a large, incredibly strong but mentally disable man who needs a friend like Lennie to look after him.

The reality is that there are all kinds of Lennie's in this world. How do we best stand along side of them so they can find a place where they can be free to be themselves? They don't fit in to the business world of success motivation books and seminars. Misfits deserve a place to fit in, too.

The story opens with George and Lennie heading toward another job after things went bad in a previous one. The characters in the new situation have different ideas about life and symbolize the various ways working people approach what they do. There's also the unspoken rules of the various cultures we find ourselves in, with subsequent misunderstandings. In the end we seehow fragile dreams can be in a world that seems indifferent to our struggles.

The title comes from these lines from Robert Burns' poem, To A Mouse. 

The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men

          Gang aft agley,

An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,

          For promis’d joy!

(Trans: The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.
    And leave us naught but grief and pain, for promised joy.)

Times have changed but the story remains relevant. Though we're living in a different era, human nature hasn't evolved the way technology has. 

* * *

In 2021 I wrote about banned books. To my. surprise Of Mice and Men was banned in dozens of municipalities. You can find out why here: Do You Read Banned Books

Thanks for reading. Did you read this book in high school? Or later?  What was your take?

Throwback Thursday: Dreaming of Dylan

Two nights ago I met Bob Dylan. The meeting took place in a dream, so it was not a real encounter with the legendary singer/songwriter. I'm not sure how old I was in the dream, but he seemed to be somewhere in his fifties or sixties.

In the dream we were standing in a room with rather dim lighting, talking. It was a very normal conversation. He didn't smile much but he wasn't cold or aloof. Unfortunately, when I woke I didn't write down any of its details. We met and we talked, like people do sometimes. 

What it made me think of, though, was Mary Lee Kortes' book Dreaming of Dylan, which I wrote about in April of 2019. The book was definitely a fun read. Here are a few excerpts and my review from that time.

* * * * *

Dream 103 / Dylan Vs. Paulsen
I am sitting at the kitchen table with my parents. I’m very young in the dream, only seven or eight years old, and the presidential election is coming. My parents are fighting about who to vote for: Bob Dylan or Pat Paulsen.

* * * *
Dreams are one of those amazing phenomenon that fall into that area of mystery as regards what it means to be human. Studied by psychologists and now the domain or neuroscience, who can definitively say where they come from or what they mean. One thing for certain, our minds produce pretty wild stories sometimes.

What is is that makes our dreams so vivid? The fun part, though, is sharing those dream anecdotes and stories with others, in part because often there doesn't seem to be any kind of logic to the dream at all. It just goes where it wants and you go with it.

And that's what makes these 115 dreams so much fun. Even if you're not a Dylan fan, you'll enjoy these stories because after a lifetime living in this world you will undoubtedly have formed a certain kind of image of the Nobel Laureate so that when he appears in dreams, he's often the caricature of his persona. Or not.

The book, published by BMG Books, is titled Dreaming of Dylan: 115 Dreams About Bob. The author is Mary Lee Kortes, a recording artist and performer who has actually opened for Bob, so in a sense she's already had a dream come true, I suspect.

I don't know how long it took to assemble this collection of dreams, but the final outcome is a totally first rate execution of concept. It's a beautiful book as well as totally entertaining, especially if you're a fan. The contributors come from all over the world, from painters to poets to Patti Smith.

If you're a Dylan fan, you already know where the title of the book comes from, the title of a song on Bringing It All Back Home. The spirit of the book itself is in alignment with another familiar song, Talkin' World War III Blues, which ends with this famous stanza:

Well, now time passed and now it seems
Everybody’s having them dreams
Everybody sees themselves
Walkin’ around with no one else
Half of the people can be part right all of the time
Some of the people can be all right part of the time
But all of the people can’t be all right all of the time
I think Abraham Lincoln said that
“I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours”
I said that

* * * *

One other feature of the book that is somewhat amusing is the irregular structure. That is, the dreams all have numbers but they are not in the order of the numbers. You might expect 1 to be first and 115 to be the last dream in the book, but then again, tell me a dream in which the story makes sense and I will tell you 50 where it's a jumble of unexpected juxtapositions. I think the absence of a table of contents and the jumbled structure just makes it all that much more fun.

Here's the author's dream, which she shares at the beginning of the book.

Dream 106 / Wrong Key
I was rehearsing for a Losers Lounge show (an NYC series that takes place at Joe’s Pub). I was scheduled to sing Townes Van Zandt's "No Place To Fall" and was rehearsing with the guy who is going to accompany me--Bob Dylan.

We were in a dark dirty white room, just the two of us. He was sitting on the floor strumming a lute and playing the song in a weird key.

"That’s the wrong key," I told him. "I sing it in D. What key are you playing it in?"

He looked up at me. "The key if I"

I was so annoyed. "There’s no such thing," I said.

“That’s the key I play it in,” said Bob.

--Marie Lee Kortes
Musician, Author / Brooklyn

Some of the dreams are more developed and more detailed, stretching two to four pages. Others are brief, and hilarious like this one.

61 / Space Visionary
I have had many dreams about Dylan, and he has never spoken to me in them until recently when he named a hill near where I grew up. “You can see the city from there," he said. But you can’t.

--Jeff Ward
Writer, Singer/Song Writer / Ireland

* * * *

Illustration for Dream 103 / Dylan vs. Paulsen

The titles alone are worth the read... Or, you can skip the words altogether and enjoy the illustrations, photos and design. Yes, Dreaming Of Dylan is an enjoyable experience any way you choose to engage it.

Here are some of the titles of the various dreams...

Desk Set
Fur
Sobering
What's In Your Freezer
Duet With Dog
Meet Me In The Morning
It'll Cost You
Walking The Room
I Dreamed Bob Dylan Had A Crush On My Mom
Time Traveler
O Captain
Not Alone

You can find the book here at Amazon. Dreaming of Dylan. I am confident it would make a great gift for any Dylan fan, including the Dylan fan in your life.

Related Links
For more about the author, visit https://maryleescorvette.com/about
Schedule for Duluth Dylan Fest 2023 

Grown-ups, Have Your Dreams Come True?

Guest blog post by John Prin

“The greatest despair is to not become the person you were meant to be.”

--Soren Kierkegaard

Ramona had a dream. A big dream. During one of my seminars, she declared, “My dream is to prevent any animal on the planet from ever being harmed.” Her certainty and clarity got everybody’s attention, as it did mine. But she was too busy with life, taking care of three growing children, running a busy household, and working part time at a supermarket as well as volunteering on weekends. How could she possibly realize such a huge dream?

We all dream about the best life we want to live. Many of us imagine great deeds and larger-than-life goals. Almost any functioning adult, it turns out, faces a primal, deep-rooted quandary that will define their identity:

“Why am I alive?”

“What is my purpose in life?”

“What am I going to do about it?”

In our minds, we may aspire to lofty achievements and significant acts of service that will inspire our fellow human beings. We may envision striving for a grand purpose, a destiny we are meant to fulfill. Yet . . .

A vast number of us learn that life gets in the way. Quite simply, we confront obstacles and life’s demands, so we eventually settle for less and move on. Where do those dreams of making a difference go? When we postpone our destiny, is a happy ending impossible?

Some people avoid the responsibility of answering these three questions by working hard at unsatisfying jobs to provide a living for their family, while others escape into the abuse of drugs and alcohol or depression and apathy, to cite a few responses. My seminar titled My Life Dream and Destiny occurred during a national conference for health care professionals. 1 I asked the thirty-five audience members: “Have any of you defined your dream in life and are you working to make it come true? Or, is your destiny on hold waiting for you to act?”

That’s when Ramona, a woman in her 40s, raised her hand and declared her big dream. Fellow participants affirmed its idealism, its simplicity and universal scope, but wondered how a goal so lofty could ever be achieved. We discussed how significant progress toward a goal that huge for one person would itself be a worthy lifetime project. One participant suggested narrowing “animals” to more manageable limits: from dogs, to cats and other pets, to horses, and so on.

“So, Ramona,” I asked, “what steps are you taking to make your dream come true?”

“None right now,” she responded. “But that’s why I’m here: to come up with a plan and do something about it.”

Ramona reminisced about being raised on a farm and her childhood love of animals. The passion in her voice aroused us. I asked, “In what ways could you rekindle that same passion as a mature adult?” She drew a blank. 

One group member suggested, “Sounds like you know why you are alive and what your purpose is.” Another proposed that she could volunteer at a local humane society where injured or abused animals need care. Ramona liked that idea, however, “My goal is to prevent animals from being abused and mistreated in the first place.” Still another member offered to help create a website to promote her cause. She scribbled notes.

Group members raised the issue of priorities: What activities would Ramona have to put aside to make available more time in her schedule to invest the energy her big dream required. People suggested new choices of activities such as encouraging neighbors and friends to join her, using social media to spread the word, different ways to raise money, etc. Ramona acknowledged that her husband and kids no longer needed the level of attention she’d once devoted to them years earlier. “A lot of years have piled up behind me, and the ones ahead are getting fewer and fewer. I’m going crazy every day thinking about it.”

“The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose.”

--Poet Robert Byrne

Whenever people focus on positive and authentic goals that matter deeply to them their energy elevates and new priorities become clearer. I offered a three-phase model intended to help a person “unleash the most complete version of their authentic self—to embrace “the True You self” that strives to make one’s dream come true for the benefit of others.” 2

Dream: An ideal that nourishes and challenges me.

Purpose: My motivation to do, and be, my best for others.

Meaning: Why my dream, and my life, matter.

The distinctions between “dream,” “purpose,” and “meaning” set off some animated comments. As individuals, we can choose and develop our dream based on our strongest interests and highest values. Purpose stimulates us to arrange the roles and responsibilities of our job/finances, family/spouse/children, and citizenship functions in society that will facilitate our dream.

Meaning is the set of emotions that result; it’s what happens when the benefits and rewards for others and ourselves accrue from acting freely and authentically.

For Ramona, that meant a solid answer to the question, “Does my life matter?” She replied with a resounding, “Yes.” A happier family life could also follow because she would be acting consistently with her authentic dream and celebrating when each of her objectives and goals made headway.

Meaning is the elixir of life that human beings seek and desire, the fulfillment of one’s life lived with passion and purpose. Meaning can be experienced as inner joy even in the midst of outer trials and severe circumstances. Meaning results from accomplishing tasks and goals which achieve a broader purpose; it follows from expressing one’s gifts to the world, and from serving something larger than oneself (a cause, a population, a life mission). 3

“The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” 

--Oprah Winfrey

John Prin leading a seminar.

When aligned, a person’s dream, purpose, and meaning generate the reality of knowing who we are and why we are alive. We live out the reason for getting up in the morning and moving through the day. When legitimate daily demands of competing priorities arise, like careers or parenting, we find fresh energy to keep going.

Ask yourself: “Is my destiny calling me? Is it time to go deep within myself—beyond being a mom/dad and wife/husband and employee/boss—and nurture the “me” who is an artist, inventor, explorer, entrepreneur, leader, or pioneer?” Expressing that identity will make possible the finest moments of being alive—as one who knows who you are and why you are alive.

“With optimism and a firm belief in a positive future, you can throw yourself into the service of that which is larger than you are.”

--Martin Seligman, Founder of Positive Psychology

1. Florida Inner Circle Networking Conference, Fort Lauderdale February 2008

2. Roadmap to Lifelong Recovery Guidebook, © John Prin, 2008 PESI 2008

3. Authentic Happiness, © Martin E. P. Seligman, Jan 5, 2004 Atria Books