If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with.

The line is popularly attributed to L. Frank Baum in connection with Dorothy’s closing realization at the end of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, when she learns she can return to Kansas and values home over the dazzling but deceptive attractions of Oz. In the story’s final scenes, Dorothy reflects on what her journey has taught her—especially after meeting characters who sought qualities they largely possessed already. However, this exact wording is not a known verbatim sentence from Baum’s original 1900 novel; it appears to be a later paraphrase that condenses Dorothy’s sentiment into a modern, quotable form.

The quotation expresses the idea that what we most deeply long for—belonging, love, purpose, “home”—is often found in familiar places and within oneself rather than in distant quests. The “back yard” image emphasizes the overlooked richness of the ordinary and the danger of projecting fulfillment onto faraway destinations. The final clause (“if it isn’t there, I never really lost it”) suggests that true desires are not external objects to be recovered but enduring values or capacities that remain available once we recognize them. It aligns with Oz’s broader theme: the journey reveals that the seekers already carry the seeds of what they want.