I just read a blog post entitled “How Oprah Winfrey Implicitly Endorses Consumerism and Materialism”
In that post, Brad Tuttle talks about how Oprah is NOT compensated for any of her endorsements (you know, her “favorite things”), so people want them even more because they know that she just likes them. But is that what “living your best life,” as Oprah says, is really about?
I stopped watching Oprah a few years ago when she started getting into The Secret. It seems like that goes along with her feel-good consumerist attitude. It’s like she’s saying that life is all about doing what’s best for ME, doing what feels good for ME. doing only what I want to do – all the time. I honestly don’t believe that thinking of yourself all the time and buying things makes anyone truly happy.
At my funeral (I know, it’s sort of morbid to imagine your own funeral, but anyway), I really don’t want people to say, “Bryn was so great because she had a really nice car and an awesome cell phone and platinum dipped dinner plates.” If that’s all someone will have to say about me, I will have lived an embarrassingly self-absorbed life. I’m hoping they’ll say something like, “She really changed people’s lives for the better. She was a woman of God. She spent her life humbly serving others.”
Real happiness comes from connecting with others – our families, a significant other, friends, and God. Everyone feels uplifted when communities come together to help someone in need. The tragedy going on in Joplin, Missouri right now is a prime example of how people just want to help and serve others. Thousands of people are donating cash, essential items, and blood so that those trying to get their lives back together in Joplin can succeed. And it gives us all that warm fuzzy feeling inside to think about how people can come together in the midst of tragedy.
When it comes to “living your best life,” think about what’s really important.
Oprah, I know people are devastated that your show is over, but I’m sure some other narcissistic hollywood richer will come along soon to tell us all that our possessions make us happy… but they’ll be wrong too.
