BREAKING NEWS: Oprah has a podcast!
Her first two episodes were interviews with Brené Brown, which was smart, because Brené Brown is AMAZING.
My biggest takeaway from their conversation was this Brené quote: People always say to me, “I want to go into the arena, but I’m scared. Can I take a little armor with me?” But one thing I have found in my life is that the only thing you need when you go in is clarity of values and faith. As in, “This is the article I wrote. And if you think I need to lose weight or that I suck, that’s okay. I’m standing on my faith and my values. You cannot knock me over.”
Wow.
I often worry what others think of me. I wish I didn’t. It’s embarrassing to me, to admit this worry.
But according to Brené – if I am clear about who I am, what my values are, and why I’m doing what I’m doing – and if I have faith in a power greater than me (which I do, albeit in vague terms) – then haters can’t hate on me. Or rather – they can hate all they want, but it won’t break me down.
That’s powerful stuff.
I don’t know if I’m completely clear on what my values are. There are words swimming around in my mind as I write… Honesty. Authenticity. Growth. Love. Kindness. Mindfulness. Presence. Balance. Play. I’m always glad when something prompts me to consider my values.
Listening to the conversation between Oprah and Brené also prompted me to think about faith. Brené says, “My faith is the organizing principle of my life.” And I had a little faith moment, with these words jumping into my head – I have faith when I allow the universe to fill me with faith and spirit. I do not have faith when I close up and try to do everything all by myself.
Just wow.
Here’s the whole Oprah-Brené interview.
Counting My Blessings: I am grateful for a clean kitchen and an hour of writing practice.