OK, fine, so maybe Oprah didn't sit anywhere near us, but honestly, it didn't matter. She spoke, we listened, and everyone left happy.Let me back up a bit...Oprah hosted the Life You Want conference in eight cities around the country, and this was the last stop on the tour. I purchased tickets as fast as I could, and dragged my mom and Kim along for the ride. Luckily, they loved it as much as I did.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the event. The web site was vague, stating that we'd have a wondrous adventure with Oprah and her hand-picked trailblazers Deepak Chopra, Elizabeth Gilbert, Rob Bell, and Iyanla Vanzant. It promised to help me envision my next steps to the life I want, and it touted O Town, a pop-up village where I could learn and shop with fellow fans.
My mom and I started our adventure in a long line, where we collected our event wristbands. They were chunky white plastic blocks that looked and felt like house arrest bracelets. I wasn't sure what they were for, but I suspected the tour sponsors used them for marketing purposes.
Mom and I wandered over to O Town next.
I overheard a woman asking her friends what O Town was, and one answered, "It's a place to stand in long lines."
She wasn't kidding--there were lines for all the sponsors. We walked past booths for skin care, cars, and furniture stores, and one that simply read "Go boldy." I wasn't sure what they sold, but I cracked up at the woman behind me who read the sign out loud.
"Go baldly," she read, then asked, "Who wants to go baldly?"
On the center stage, an OWN TV lady interviewed some of the network stars, including our favorite, Kym Whitley. She was hilarious. Iyanla Vanzant came onstage and she was pretty interesting, too. She's usually a little annoying, but she gave some great advice, especially when one woman asked how to make her life happier.
"Being happy is a choice," Iyanla told her. "Just like being sad or miserable is a choice. If you aren't happy, change that. If don't like your life, change it. You have to make the choice, and you have to do the work. No one else can do that for you."
I nodded in agreement. Happy doesn't just come to you--you've gotta go after it. I realized I was gonna learn a lot this weekend, and I was excited!
Finally, it was time to start the show. We followed 10,000 giddy women (and a few less-giddy men) into the arena. Usually, I hate crowds, but this one was different. There was an electric energy in the air. These women were excited, happy, and unbelievably friendly. Everywhere we turned, they started a conversation, offering up chairs, asking where you were from. There were 10,000 people there, but they all felt like friends, neighbors, community...It was fantastic!
We climbed the stairs to the cheap seats, where Kim met us. The crowd waited for Oprah to take the stage, but in the meantime, they were there to party! A DJ played 80s dance tunes, which the crowd loved. (Apparently, all the Oprah fans are my age!) My mom, Kim, and I jumped up to join in the dance party, singing loudly, and busting our best moves.
And then, abruptly, the music stopped. The house lights went off, throwing the arena into darkness. Then Oprah herownself came over the speakers, talking about the beginning of time, when all that existed were the stars in the sky. Suddenly, my house arrest bracelet lit up--it turned blue, flickering like a star. All the bracelets in the arena turned blue, and it did look like a night sky full of stars. The crowd went insane.
Then the blue lights changed to red and yellow, just like the stage colors. A giant sun appeared onscreen, as Oprah said it was the dawning of a new day. The crowd cheered wildly as the sun rose, and then even louder as Ms. O took the stage. It. was. awesome!
When the crowd finally settled down, Oprah spoke. She talked for almost two hours, telling her story. A common thread ran through her stories--of triumph and failure, of second chances, of realizing that your biggest challenges and weakest moments are the ones that make you grow the most. She spoke of life as a series of mountain tops and valleys, and warned us not to get stuck when we hit the valleys.
"Don't let those valleys define you," she said. "Life is a series of highs on the mountain tops and lows in the valleys. But the challenging times are what make you strong, so use what you learn in the valley to make you stronger the next time you're there."
I loved the message. It wasn't anything new, or even wildly original. But it was sincere, and honest, and it was a good reminder. It was like sitting down with an old friend you admire, someone who's always given your good advice. It was a wonderful way to end the evening.
Oprah came onstage, and then she brought out Deepak Chopra. He explained the difference between spirituality and religion (spirituality is your connection, your experience with God; religion is someone else's experience, their interpretation of how that relationship). I realized that's how I feel, and why I never really felt much kinship to religious institutions or (in my case) the priests that ran mine. I always felt like I was following their rules and their beliefs, not my own.
Next up was group meditation. I didn't know if that was possible in that giant arena--seriously, just moments before, the music was blaring, and the people were cheering and dancing. But Deepak did it--he quieted the crowd until you could hear a pin drop. He told us to close our eyes and focus on our breathing, and we did. (Well, I did, but then I opened my eyes--the silence was so sudden, it was like the people all disappeared. I had to see if they had!)
When Deepak brought us out of the meditation, I opened my eyes again, feeling strengthened and renewed. It was crazy how relaxed I felt.
The next speaker was Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the book Eat, Pray, Love. I totally dug that book, and I was excited to hear her. She was a great speaker, relaying her story with passion, but it felt different. I'd felt the common thread with Oprah and Deepak Chopra--their stories weren't mine, but I could relate to them.
I couldn't relate to Liz Gilbert's story--it was one of misery and hopelessness. She recounted how she hated her life, her marriage, how she spent every night on the bathroom floor sobbing, searching for a way out. She relayed her desperate conversations with God, and how stifled she felt by her life, but how she didn't was so fearful of changing it and disappointing her family.
It just made me so sad. I've felt low, and I've felt depressed, but that level of unhappiness, at feeling totally trapped in your whole life...I haven't felt that.
So I listened with new ears. Instead of feeling sadness, I felt gratitude.
"Thank you," I whispered to my mom. For not making me doubt everything in my life, or for feeling like all I wanted out of life was an escape, is what I wanted to say. I couldn't really verbalize all that, but she knew what I meant.
I did enjoy the second part of Liz Gilbert's story, though. The soul-searching and relief when she found her way out of the darkness, and The Quest. Her Quest. I was even a little jealous at that point, not because I need a year away from everything to find myself, but because I want to spent four months each in Italy and Bali. That would be amazing...
Rob Bell was up next, and he was pretty good. He also emphasized the breathing, saying that if you are breathing, you get another chance (second chances, breathing, and listening to your spirit were the big themes here). I also liked his message of Love Wins--love always does win, and you have to love everyone, especially yourself.
We slipped out a little early to beat the lunch crowds. It was a good plan, because we beat the lines, enjoying fat shrimp po'boy sandwiches in the sun, and recounting our morning.
After that po'boy (OK, and a beer), I was a worried I might be a little sleepy for the afternoon sessions. But Oprah thought of everything--she brought our some Soulcycle instructors, who got the crowd on their feet and moving. We waved our arms, our legs, exercising in our tiny spaces, 10,000 lit-up bracelets moving up and down in sync. It was the perfect way to get everyone motivated--I was wide awake for the rest of the afternoon!
The last speaker was Iyanla Vanzant. She was good, much funnier than she is on her TV show.
"I like her better as a comedienne," my mom said, and it was true, she was pretty dang funny.
Oprah closed out the show. She brought all the trailblazers back onstage for a final round of questions and applause, but they turned the tables on her. It was the very last show of the tour, and they wanted to thank her. Their heartfelt speeches made everyone in the arena, including Oprah, tear up. We all left feeling great--invigorated, inspired, and ready to change the world.
But first...dinner with my family. It was great to see my brother Tim, and my niece and nephew. (Heck, it was just nice to be around teenagers who were actually glad to see me--my surly teen is never happy to see me!) We laughed so much around the table that my face actually hurt. And we laughed just as much the next day, hopped up on cupcakes and sugar.
Overall, the weekend was one of the best ever. I learned a lot, but mostly, it was just a great reminder that I am living the life I want. I surround myself with uplifting people, I travel and spend time with my family--the things that really fuel my spirit. I don't waste time anymore on people who don't have time for me, or energy-sucking people.
So I didn't walk away with any new, shocking revelations or fixes--I walked away with reminders to keep moving forward on my path. Follow the light, like the ever-changing colored bracelets showed me. Remember what I learned in the valleys, remember that every day is a second chance, like Oprah said.
And most importantly, remember that being happy is a choice. I choose happiness, and I will do the work.
I am filled with gratitude--to my parents, for raising me to be strong and loving, and to this weekend, for reminding me that I'm on the right path.
Thank you, Oprah!
No comments:
Post a Comment