And there is a lot of it. She weighs in on "Joy," "Resilience," "Connection," "Gratitude," "Possibility," "Awe," "Clarity" and "Power."
Here are some of Oprah's things she knows for sure:
"It's up to each of us to get very still and say, 'This is who I am.' No one else defines your life. Only you do."
"Failure is just a way for our lives to show us we're moving in the wrong direction, that we should try something different."
"If you make a choice that doesn't please your mate, friends, or whoever, the world will not fall apart."
"This is the body you've been given -- love what you've got."
"The same questions follow every woman through girlhood and adolescence: Can I really do this? Will I get it right? Am I okay?"
And, like I said, she has a lot more of these -- 228 pages worth to be exact.
I, on the other hand, not being Oprah, only have five things I know for sure, but it's a start -- and here they are.
1. Meditation can remove the "bitch factor" from your life.
Meditation has many benefits (and I wrote about them in a post called "A Little Meditation on a Little Meditation by an Unlikely Meditator"), but the one that is most powerful is the capacity meditation has to shut down any tendency you might have to be a bitch (and that goes for you guys out there too).
When you are still with yourself, you connect to the source of love within you, your soul, that silent witness within that is always there sending you messages of love, joy and inspiration. When you listen you feel the love that is your true nature. Buddha said, "You can search the entire universe and will not find another person more worthy of love than you." When you realize that, when you love yourself first, you become conscious of your existence and the existence of others and can love them too. You realize that at the soul level we are all inextricably connected. And that's called compassion. And it's really difficult to be a bitch when you have all of that compassion and love shining through. But I know, it takes practice.
I know that for sure.
2. Libraries change lives.
I know I talk about libraries all of the time, but I think that's what it takes for people to understand the true power of libraries. I also think it takes just one meaningful encounter for you to understand it.
Here is an example:
When I was a librarian in a public library, I was teaching a very basic computer class on how to set up a personal Yahoo email account. The class consisted of about six people who had few computer or typing skills, a few seniors and a couple of people where English was not their first language. One of the latter was a lady from Korea. After the class, I gave them all a bit of homework: sometime during the week send me an email so I can see that you can do that. A few days later, I received an email from the lady from Korea. In it she thanked me for the class and said that she had just sent an email to her son in Korea who she hadn't seen or spoken to in over a year. So that one encounter, that one class, brought together two people separated by space and time. Not to mention the lump in my throat.
That is just one such life changing encounter I can relate.
Libraries are not just about books, though books are certainly worthwhile and life changing on their own. Libraries protect our right to information, provide training and classes to better ourselves, teach our children skills to make them successful in school and provide a place for the community to gather.
If you have a need, have you gone to your local library or checked out your local library's webpage lately? I think you will be amazed at what you will find.
Trust me.
And I am going to keep talking about libraries until you do!
I know that for sure.
3. Television is not evil.
It is no secret that I like to watch television. My flirtation with it goes way back and I have poked fun about myself and TV in other posts. And I have no problem with people who don't watch. What I DO have a problem with is people giving television more power than it really has and ranting about how it is destroying civilization. I can think of a lot more things that have destroyed civilization than an episode of "Modern Family." (Now if you are talking about Fox News, you might have a point, but that's a whole different post).
I had a husband once who wouldn't have a TV in the house because he believed if he had one, he would somehow be forced to watch it. Not sure how that works (the evil little TV fairy attacks him and makes his finger press the "on" button?), but needless to say the marriage didn't last.
Likewise, there is what I call the "snooty factor." When I am enthusiastically talking about the latest episode of "So You Think You Can Dance," and someone says to me something snooty like, "I don't watch TV, which in a conversational setting is a conversation stopper if ever there was on, I think I will not let that stop the conversation and say, "No need to apologize" as in "Bless your heart, you poor thing (I can be snooty too)." Because it's one thing to not watch, which is fine. What am I, the TV police? But it's another thing to feel you need to say that to someone who obviously does and somehow imply you are better than.
And there is a certain hypocrisy attached to that. OK, you don't watch TV but are you playing video games and reading comic books instead?
Another idea is to recommend meditation to this person because clearly the "Bitch factor" is an issue (see above).
If we are talking about evil, let's talk about war, racism, mass murder, child abuse, those things are evil. Television isn't even close.
I know that for sure.
4. Retirement isn't for sissies.
For those of you who have been following this blog since the beginning, you know that I shared my retirement fears and woes since I started this blog. It's been a year and a half since I retired and like Bette Davis said about aging, "Old age ain't no place for sissies," retirement ain't no place for them either.
No matter how much you have looked forward to not having to get up early and go to work at a job you might not like for a boss you hate, the adjustment to not having that job anymore is HUGE. What do you say when someone asks you, "What do you do?" Then you realize just how much you have defined yourself by your job.
I never liked getting up early, but I had a job I liked and never hated my bosses, which made it even more difficult to say sayonara. Suddenly you have all of that time you always wished you had. What are you going to do with it? Where you once derived meaning by merely going to work, now you must find it somewhere else. You need to start redefining yourself, your life, your dreams, what's left of the your future... You are staring your mortality in the face. What are you going to do with the rest of your life?
So just as starting out in life is a scary adventure, so too is the endgame. Sissies need not apply.
I know that for sure.
5. Skinny jeans don't make you look skinny.
I thought since this blog is not just about retirement, books and libraries, it's also about movies, fashion and fun, that I should add something about fashion, so here it is.
"Skinny jeans don't make you look skinny."
But who cares? I'm going to wear them anyway!
I know that for sure.
What do YOU know for sure?
Thanks for Reading!
See you Friday
for my review of the new movie
"American Sniper,"
The Week in Reviews,
as well as my progress on
"My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project."
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