Oprah Winfrey writes a monthly inspirational column in her Oprah Magazine every month where she shares about her life, her insights and news concerning her many projects. In the June issue, she shared a wonderful story about one of the biggest teaching of New Thought: ‘Be the change you want to see in the world!’
What I Know for Sure
~Oprah Winfrey, excerpt from her column in the June 2018 Oprah magazine
… I’m really proud to say that even in my worst moments, I’ve always had the good sense to know that however bad things were, they wouldn’t remain so. Everything passes if you learn to hold things lightly.
Bad breakups, bad decisions that left me disappointed in myself or the way I 
handled a situation: Every little mistake has been a change to grow. I long ago learned that ‘I never want to feel like that again’ means don’t do what causes the feeling the first time.
These day, sitting atop my perch as a 64-year-old, I can see clearly that the collective consciousness of we-the-people is the cause of much of our national angst. How much energy have we given to thinking about ‘how bad things are’? How much more are we going to give?
I for one am weary of the refrain. Because what we focus on expands. The more we complain, the worse things get. It’s a universal law.
Our insatiable desire for ‘reality’ entertainment, gossip, the dish on anyone — our human tendency to look for the worst in others to make ourselves feel better by comparison — has created a culture where it’s hard to see that life is a mirror.
When showing up for you is always a reflection of how you see yourself.
But what if you took a minute to step away from the noise of the world, the constant bombardment, and go to the still small interior space where you abide as observer of it all?
In the stillness is where peace abounds.
I want peace, so I actively work at having it. I don’t leave the TV or any media on without choosing to. I refuse to be fed a nonstop barrage of negativity. Or to continue to engage in conversations about how bad things are.
I come from a people who endured the worst of times, slavery, Jim Crow, the total absence of civil rights. Times when things really were as bad as they seemed. So I relish the power of choice! The freedom to choose who I want to be and how I want to live each moment.
As long as we have the freedom to choose, I know for sure that things never as bad as they seem.
Freedom offers you the opportunity to stir things up, to bring your light and break up the darkness. To make your mark. Contribute. Give. Knock down the negative. And build a world worthy of your highest good. Let’s do it.