BYE, BYE, OPRAH

I suppose you would have to be living on an island, in the middle of the ocean…and not the good kind of island, either.  I’m talking about a few trees and a strip of sand…and not a television or computer in sight…to not know that this week is the end of The Oprah Show.  They have been talking about it since she announced it in 2009.  She’s leaving Wednesday…..25 years she has been doing her television show.  25 years!   That means I was only 23 years old when it started!    OK…maybe it was 33. 

There are many people who think many things about Oprah.  Some think she hung the moon.  Some think she is the greatest thing to ever happen to television.  Some think she is too liberal.  Some think she is a Christian.  Some say she couldn’t possibly know the Lord.  Some think she is beautiful.  Some think she can not be beautiful because she is a different color than them.  Some think she has helped countless number of people.  Some think she has done it all for her own glory. Some think she has led many down the wrong path, others think she has shown the the only way.   I can not say if any of these things are true or false.  But, I can say what I think.  So, here goes…

Monday and Tuesday there have been shows honoring Oprah and some of her accomplishments.  They were held at the United Center in Chicago, a small, intimate theater that seats 30,000!!!  And, from the looks of it, every seat was filled.  The shows were filled with surprise guests that included the elite in the entertainment industry.  She was very gracious to all and shed many tears…even going into the ‘ugly cry’ as she calls it.  The talent was non stop, as if they were trying to get as many folks into the program as possible.  There were the young and the old there to honor her.  And, honor her they did! 

It is true that she has led  an extraordinary life.  And, she is to be commended for all the good she has done.    Being from a small town and a poor family, as she gained popularity, she quickly became a nation wide leader.  Her passion has been education.  I learned that because of her 64,688 people have been given an education…throughout the world.  She has given 415 scholarships to Moorhouse College for black men.  Her thought was if you’ take the underprivileged black man and see that he gets a good education…you change not only his life, but also the life of a whole family.’  It should be noted that among these men are doctors, lawyers, professors, astronauts,business men…and together, these 415 have given over $300,000 to the scholarship fund to see that even more young black men can take advantage of a better life.  She has started schools in Africa, and several other countries.  These young men and women now have the tools to change the life they have been born into.  She has also started education opportunities for poor women in undeveloped countries.  They then are able to provide for their families and help train others.  

 She single handedly started a new movement geared at reading.  Her book club of 65 books through out the years, has opened the eyes of  many who had not read in years.  A recommendation from her could make or break a book.  I personally  read about 20 of the books she recommended. and I throughly enjoyed all but one.   Her club consisted not onlynewly published books, but, some of the enduring classics of great literature.

 She has built whole neighborhoods for victims of Katrina.  She raised many more millions to build more. 

She started the movement of  ‘not texting while driving’.  Many, many signed a pledge to forego this practice.  Who knows how many lives this has saved? 

People on the show were saying what they had learned from her shows through the years.  Which got me to thinking.  Have I learned anything from her ?  I like to think of myself as having a brain that knows so much, there is no room for new things within.  HA!  I realize, the older I get, that I don’t have any idea just how much I don’t know!  Nevertheless, these are some of the things I learned from her:

1.  When you know better, you do better. 

2.  When someone shows you who they are, believe them. 

3.  Trust your instincts. 

4. As Mothers, we should always show excitement whenever we see our children. 

5.  Surround yourself only with those who lift you up and make you better. 

6.  Everyone has a story.

7.  The weaknesses and the addictions we all have are due to the emotions, the beliefs, the habits and the patterns stored deep inside ourselves.   Some of them are ours and some are adopted from our culture, family or friends.  I have to unearth these for myself.

8.  Bras, jeans, Spanx and poop.

So, it is now Thursday morn…I waited to post because I wanted to post about her last show.  I was shocked, to say the least.  In case you didn’t see.  She was on stage alone and spent the whole time talking.  No guests, though a few celebrities in the audience.  She talked about what she had done, what she had learned, and what she was most proud of. 

When she was asked how she had done the show and all it has entailed for 25 years  she said– “My team, and Jesus. Because nothing but the hand of God has made this possible for me.” Anticipating questions about which god she was talking about, she continued, “I’m talking about the same one you’re talking about. I’m talking about alpha and omega, the omniscient, the omnipresent, the ultimate consciousness, the source, the force, the all of everything there is, the one and only G-O-D.   I know I’ve never been alone, and you haven’t either,” she said. “And I know that that presence that flows, some people call it grace, is working in my life at every single turn, and yours too if you let it in.”