The Unexamined Life

Rachel Watkins examines the benefits of not only looking at what a new year has to offer, but what last year taught us. 

Surely you know about the book, the Broadway play, and now the movie phenomenon that is Wicked. Regardless of your own feelings about it, it saturated the media throughout 2025.   

I am a fan of the original Oz series by L. Frank Baum. I am a fan of the 1939 classic film starring Judy Garland, Margaret Hamilton, and others. I remember meeting two of the original Munchkins as a child. While I can’t remember their names, this married couple lived in the small town next to mine and were the highlighted guests of a summer parade back in the 1970s. I was thrilled to shake their hands. 

What Do I Let In? 

Back when it came out, I even gave Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995) a read but couldn’t get through it. Its arrival coincided with my own decision to curate my reading materials more carefully. Realizing there were a lot of books, both fiction and nonfiction, that reflected a better world view I strived to set more worldly books aside. Maguire’s novel was decidedly worldly.  

But then came the play; with my family’s love of Broadway, the Wicked soundtrack made its way into our home. Did I concede to the world? After all, I had already rejected the book, what about the play? Perhaps I did. I am forever judging myself on what I let into my house and what I don’t. These are tough decisions every family has to make, and every family will make mistakes. 

Wrong decisions have been made since the Fall, from an apple to the length of a man’s hair and another man’s three denials around a fire. We all make daily decisions that fall short of God’s will, and these will continue until Jesus returns to take us home. But can we work at doing better? 

Not Only Believing, But Belonging to Jesus

When we strive to not just believe in Jesus but belong to Jesus, we can find ourselves rethinking what does belong in our hearts, minds, and souls as well as our homes — and what doesn’t. Which, in an unexpected turn, brings me back to Wicked and its song "Dancing through Life."  

Sung by Fiyero (spoiler alert: He becomes the Scarecrow), this song reveals his hedonistic life where he wishes to dance through life without giving much thought to anything of importance. He calls everyone to “learn to live the unexamined life.” He tells them, “Why think too hard? When it's so soothing, dancing through life.”  

However, we all must come to realize that thinking hard about life is exactly what the Church calls us to do. We were taught an examination of conscience at the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and encouraged to add one to our evening prayers.  

The Catechism of the Catholic Church Church (1992) given to us through the work of Saint John Paul II remains the premier concise document about the teachings of the Church. There are also documents from other popes and excellent books by great authors, both religious and lay. There were television shows such as Bishop Fulton Sheen’s series from the 1960s and Mother Angelica on EWTN until her death in 2016. EWTN is still out there, and there are dozens and dozens of YouTube channels and websites all ready to help inform you and encourage you to lead a more examined life.  

A New Year Examination

Spending time to look carefully at my own life has become a bit of a tradition as I close out a year. Much like an employee review, I try to look at how I have been doing as a Catholic in all my roles as a daughter of God, wife, mother, friend and more.  

The questions begin with, “Am I closer to God than I was a year ago?” and go from there. If this interests you, Cathoic365 has the list under “A Catholic Year-End Review.” Looking at the end of one year is a good help in starting off the next year better. Each year until the end. 

Even Fiyero knows life doesn’t last forever and uses that to justify his lifestyle, singing, “Dancing through life (down at the Ozdust), If only because dust is what we come to.” 

The refrain repeated every Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Memento Mori, an important Catholic teaching, has us ponder that dust. What in our lives might be a hinderance to the next life in heaven? Even a brainless scarecrow finally realizes that we should consider this.  

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Copyright 2026 Rachel Watkins
Images: Canva