Being is Becoming
Process Theology and the Wizard of Oz
What does it mean to say that our being is a process of becoming? It doesn’t mean that we start life as blank slates, waiting to be shaped entirely by external forces. Nor does it mean that we are bound to a single, fixed identity from the start or even at the end of our lives. Instead, it means that who we are unfolds over time—not by becoming something entirely new, but by realizing and actualizing our potential. Some of these potentials emerge through experience, while others have been present within us all along, or at least since our childhood, awaiting recognition. In the technical language of process theology, they are "subjective aims" that have been available to us from an early age.
Consider Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. One moment, she’s a Kansas farm girl dreaming of adventure; the next, she finds herself in a world of talking scarecrows, flying monkeys, and a wizard who turns out to be a total fraud. At first, Dorothy believes she is powerless. She looks to Glinda for direction, relies on her companions for protection, and trusts in the Wizard’s supposed power to send her home. But as she journeys through Oz, she isn’t just traveling from Munchkinland to the Emerald City—she’s discovering the person she was meant to be - here "meant to be" doesn't mean predestined but rather "inwardly beckoned."
For process theologians, this inward beckoning is twofold: it is both our very own self, understood as a potential to be realized, and the living presence of God within us—what process theologians call "the initial aim" of God within us, relative to the circumstances of our lives, genetic, familial, social, historical, and environmental.
The Journey
Dorothy’s journey is more than an adventure; it is an illustration of how we become ourselves not by acquiring something foreign, but by awakening to what was already inside us. She was never merely a scared girl in need of saving—she was always capable of facing adversity, showing resilience, and ultimately finding her way home. The moment she learns that she had the power to return all along is not just a magical revelation; it is the moment she realizes that her journey was never about seeking external validation or assistance, but about recognizing her own strength.
This inner strength is both human and divine. It is our own energy within us and it is divine energy within us, albeit energy that is nurturing not coercive. Just as Dorothy was nudged forward by events, relationships, and encounters along her journey, we too experience a divine lure toward actualizing our deepest potential—toward coming home to who we were always meant to be.
This act of coming home is inwardly inspired by God, but not dictated by God. Just as Dorothy had to walk the Yellow Brick Road herself—learning, struggling, and choosing to keep going—so too does our journey require our cooperation. God does not force transformation upon us; we must respond.
The Characters of Oz and the Relational Journey
Fortunately, we have companions. Dorothy's journey is not undertaken alone; at every step, she is shaped by those she encounters. From a process theological perspective, these characters are not simply helpers but relational co-creators in Dorothy's unfolding identity.
The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion each represent aspects of the human experience—intellect, emotion, and courage—not as fixed traits but as potentials that emerge through relationship and action. Dorothy helps them realize these qualities just as they help her recognize her own strength. Their growth is mutual, demonstrating that transformation happens in community, not in isolation.
The Wizard, by contrast, represents the illusion of authority and external validation. Initially, Dorothy and her friends look to him for what they believe they lack—intelligence, heart, courage, and the ability to return home. However, they ultimately discover that these qualities were never his to bestow; they existed within them all along, emerging through experience.
This realization resonates with process theology’s idea that growth is not imposed from above but cultivated from within, in response to God's continual call.
Even the Wicked Witch, as an adversary, plays a vital role in the relational journey. Challenges and opposition are not merely obstacles but catalysts that draw out new capacities. In facing the Witch, Dorothy learns resilience and agency, reinforcing the idea that process theology embraces struggle as an essential part of transformation.
Thus, the journey itself is always relational. Dorothy’s story reminds us that we do not grow in isolation; we become who we are in the context of others—human, divine, and more-than-human. Oz is not just a land of trials but a landscape of relational becoming, where every encounter nudges Dorothy closer to the person she is meant to be.
Home
In Dorothy’s journey, home is not merely a return to Kansas, but a realization of her own growth and self-actualization.
From a process perspective, home is not a static location or a preordained destiny; it is the dynamic unfolding of who we are in relation to God’s ever-present call.
Home, then, is both our origin and our destination, but never in exactly the same way. We do not simply return to where we started, unchanged. Dorothy’s homecoming is meaningful because she has become someone new—not by discarding her past, but by embracing the fullness of who she has always been called to be, in light of experiences that are always new.
Most deeply home is not merely a final resting place but a continuous becoming. It is the moment-by-moment realization of divine possibility within us, the deepening of our relationships, and the discovery that we are always in the process of arriving. There is an important sense in which our true home is found in the journey itself as much as in any final destination. Kansas itself is a process.
Dorothy’s story, like our own, reminds us that we are not static beings. We are always in process, always invited into a deeper becoming. The challenges we face are not merely obstacles but opportunities to awaken to the divine potential within us. The question is not whether we have the strength, wisdom, or courage to navigate life’s challenges. The real question is: When will we recognize that we’ve had them all along—and trust the One who has been calling us home the entire time?
Consider Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. One moment, she’s a Kansas farm girl dreaming of adventure; the next, she finds herself in a world of talking scarecrows, flying monkeys, and a wizard who turns out to be a total fraud. At first, Dorothy believes she is powerless. She looks to Glinda for direction, relies on her companions for protection, and trusts in the Wizard’s supposed power to send her home. But as she journeys through Oz, she isn’t just traveling from Munchkinland to the Emerald City—she’s discovering the person she was meant to be - here "meant to be" doesn't mean predestined but rather "inwardly beckoned."
For process theologians, this inward beckoning is twofold: it is both our very own self, understood as a potential to be realized, and the living presence of God within us—what process theologians call "the initial aim" of God within us, relative to the circumstances of our lives, genetic, familial, social, historical, and environmental.
The Journey
Dorothy’s journey is more than an adventure; it is an illustration of how we become ourselves not by acquiring something foreign, but by awakening to what was already inside us. She was never merely a scared girl in need of saving—she was always capable of facing adversity, showing resilience, and ultimately finding her way home. The moment she learns that she had the power to return all along is not just a magical revelation; it is the moment she realizes that her journey was never about seeking external validation or assistance, but about recognizing her own strength.
This inner strength is both human and divine. It is our own energy within us and it is divine energy within us, albeit energy that is nurturing not coercive. Just as Dorothy was nudged forward by events, relationships, and encounters along her journey, we too experience a divine lure toward actualizing our deepest potential—toward coming home to who we were always meant to be.
This act of coming home is inwardly inspired by God, but not dictated by God. Just as Dorothy had to walk the Yellow Brick Road herself—learning, struggling, and choosing to keep going—so too does our journey require our cooperation. God does not force transformation upon us; we must respond.
The Characters of Oz and the Relational Journey
Fortunately, we have companions. Dorothy's journey is not undertaken alone; at every step, she is shaped by those she encounters. From a process theological perspective, these characters are not simply helpers but relational co-creators in Dorothy's unfolding identity.
The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion each represent aspects of the human experience—intellect, emotion, and courage—not as fixed traits but as potentials that emerge through relationship and action. Dorothy helps them realize these qualities just as they help her recognize her own strength. Their growth is mutual, demonstrating that transformation happens in community, not in isolation.
The Wizard, by contrast, represents the illusion of authority and external validation. Initially, Dorothy and her friends look to him for what they believe they lack—intelligence, heart, courage, and the ability to return home. However, they ultimately discover that these qualities were never his to bestow; they existed within them all along, emerging through experience.
This realization resonates with process theology’s idea that growth is not imposed from above but cultivated from within, in response to God's continual call.
Even the Wicked Witch, as an adversary, plays a vital role in the relational journey. Challenges and opposition are not merely obstacles but catalysts that draw out new capacities. In facing the Witch, Dorothy learns resilience and agency, reinforcing the idea that process theology embraces struggle as an essential part of transformation.
Thus, the journey itself is always relational. Dorothy’s story reminds us that we do not grow in isolation; we become who we are in the context of others—human, divine, and more-than-human. Oz is not just a land of trials but a landscape of relational becoming, where every encounter nudges Dorothy closer to the person she is meant to be.
Home
In Dorothy’s journey, home is not merely a return to Kansas, but a realization of her own growth and self-actualization.
From a process perspective, home is not a static location or a preordained destiny; it is the dynamic unfolding of who we are in relation to God’s ever-present call.
Home, then, is both our origin and our destination, but never in exactly the same way. We do not simply return to where we started, unchanged. Dorothy’s homecoming is meaningful because she has become someone new—not by discarding her past, but by embracing the fullness of who she has always been called to be, in light of experiences that are always new.
Most deeply home is not merely a final resting place but a continuous becoming. It is the moment-by-moment realization of divine possibility within us, the deepening of our relationships, and the discovery that we are always in the process of arriving. There is an important sense in which our true home is found in the journey itself as much as in any final destination. Kansas itself is a process.
Dorothy’s story, like our own, reminds us that we are not static beings. We are always in process, always invited into a deeper becoming. The challenges we face are not merely obstacles but opportunities to awaken to the divine potential within us. The question is not whether we have the strength, wisdom, or courage to navigate life’s challenges. The real question is: When will we recognize that we’ve had them all along—and trust the One who has been calling us home the entire time?