Yesterday I treated myself to some Super Soul Sunday, a welcome restoration after an unexpectedly busy week.
It was easy — no dress code, no entrance fee, no reservation.
I just wandered downstairs in my jammies, plopped on the couch, turned on the TV and let the infinite wisdom seep right in.
What a generous gift!
With no agenda, no book to sell or product to pitch, Oprah has been inviting some of the world’s deepest thinkers to her home. And, lucky for us, she is sharing these conversations via her Emmy Award winning series, Super Soul Sunday.
While it’s true that my sister Jenny is the executive producer of the show, it is equally true that I would have loved the series anyway. (Though, I have to say, the kid does an amazing job.)
I found Daniel Goleman’s research on emotional intelligence and our capacity for compassion genuinely inspiring.
“Everyone one of us has something we can do to make the world a better place,” he said. I thought of my 89-year old neighbor Connie, who rarely leaves her house any more, for fear of falling, but still knits Christmas stockings and has given away nearly 1,000 to date. That’s quite a legacy of kindness.
In another episode, Pastor Joel Osteen talked about the control we all have over the way we complete this sentence “I am…” He stressed that none of our experiences — neither the brilliant nor the pathetic — is wasted. They all uniquely prepare us for what Oprah calls our Supreme Destiny.
“As long as you’re breathing, you get another chance,” they agreed, and Howard Schultz would know.
The Starbucks CEO was turned down 200 times before he found an investor for his idea of an Italian style coffee shop. Then he built his empire on ideas that were ahead of their time — the gourmet coffee, the social atmosphere of his shops, and, especially, living wages and benefits for all of his employees. “As managers and leaders we would put our feet in the shoes of our employees,” he said.
We live in a miraculous age of information with more inspirational messages on a single newsfeed than anyone could possibly absorb. Still and because, it’s so valuable to take a little time on a Sunday morning before everything gets rolling, to feed our soul on the generously shared and expertly vetted messages produced by OWN.
I guess I just wanted to say thanks.
