Yesterday Oprah Winfrey, one of the wealthiest and most influential women in the world, tearily announced that in eighteen months her daytime television program is kaput. Oprah could probably have gone on forever and ever amen and been adored by her fans but she has other fish to fry. Ms. Winfrey is often feted for her wealth: apparently she rakes in about 275 million dollars a year and has a net worth exceeding two billion. She is also generous, having given away an estimated 300 million. Remarkable for a person who began her life in abject poverty and was sexually abused. There are few people who better represent the so-called American Dream and its hard not to admire what she has accomplished.
I would suggest that her role as spiritual guru is far more impressive than her wealth, and I am not being facetious here. It's hard to imagine anyone else in popular culture who has done more to promote the doctrine, if I can call it that, of self-help and self-actualization. While the statistics point to the fundamental unhappiness of Americans when it comes to depression, she has upheld the notion that we can unlock the inner light of peace and serenity through our choices and actions. And even though Oprah has struggled to walk the walk when it comes to healthy living and weight loss, she is easy to forgive because she comes across as a real and earnest person on a very emotionally accessible level.
It shouldn't be surprising that some Christian groups see her as dangerous, promoting her own cult. One reader told me that she was surprised at the vehement denunciation of Oprah by a friend. Why would she be so angry? Well the reaction may be overblown, but the friend "gets it" that Oprah provides an alternate spiritual experience.
What do you think about Oprah? Do you feel she has changed your life? Is she a guilty pleasure? Do you read her book recommendations? Fess up!
3 comments:
God has obviously given her a good mind and amazing determination
I confess I am a fan of Oprah. There was a radio personality who cut her up continously over her weight and I found myself wanting to respond to that. Her weight? He had to be insane. How can her weight problem possibly cancel out her contributions to the world? I did, however, become a little less ensured of her absolute perfection during the webcast with Eckhart Tolle. It wasn't that she was doing anything I felt was wrong, just that there was a personality with its own needs and added to this was a world wide following. So it wasn't the content that bothered me, but rather the strange way that I felt she was being worshipped, and in the way Eckhart was being treated like a new Jesus. I thought the intention was good but somehow went astray. It made me uncomfortable to witness the power she had and how this power extended to her favoured guest. Still, I can't help but feel that Oprah has been sincere and that she knew the potentional of her personal power and used it as wisely as any human could. She has been truly blessed and has been a blessing in return.
Strangely enough, given what I have written, I am not really an Oprah fan myself. I find her spiritual quest to be very vague and unfocussed. And as I mention North American culture has become extremely materialistic and unhappy.
Still, how can you not admire someone who has managed to go from rags to riches and been relatively benign and other-centred while doing so.
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