Or Wayne Dwyer or Eckhart Tolle I have no business being anyone else but me. I might not be perfect and enlightenment may elude me but I wasn't born to be Oprah I was born to be me.
I think we get confused between great people and greatness. Being a poor imitation of someone else is not greatness it is sameness. I must admit I was one of 'those' people who intertwined my greatness with the need for recognition and achievement. And those two things are not bad things if they are the by product of a dream come true and not the dream itself. Adulation fades as soon as the next best thing comes along and when you get off your soapbox the crowd disappears.
Personally I now feel the need to look at greatness in a whole different light. I need to ask myself what is this seed of greatness Creator planted within me and how do I manifest it, honor it and step into it. The answer comes not in the form of Oprah's book club but in little ways which may seem insignificant yet are profound and meaningful.
My greatness is the hand I extend to others which lifts them into their greatness.
My greatness is the 20 minutes I take out of my day to let my partner talk about hers.
My greatness is the seat I give up on the bus for the elderly woman.
My greatness is the hug I give my adopted granddaughter after she has fallen.
My greatness is every kind act and word I speak in any given moment of the day.
Greatness is the ability to let the divine light of unconditional love within shine. Greatness is when one lives an authentic life of self acceptance. Greatness is when I can look at myself in the mirror and be okay with the woman staring back at me.
I think you can get caught up in the superficial layers of fame and recognition.
When the 'Secret' was revealed it appeared to make people believe what they possessed wasn't enough that there had to be more and if they didn't have it then they should be out there manifesting it. Bottom line is often we lose sight of what we do have or we don't have the insight to see what is right in front of us. Happiness is not something everyone is taught to see. I have to shake myself awake every now and then and look at my life differently.
No I am not scheduled to appear on Oprah any time soon but I am a star in my granddaughter's eyes. No I don't have a best seller coming out next week, but I do have a partner who supports and encourages me in that dream. I am not famous or well known and my belly has a bigger bulge than my bank balance. Greatness is just being who you are and being happy being who you are. The other stuff is simply the trimming not the filling.
So the next time you give out a smile or reach out a helping hand know you are stepping into your greatness. Don't beat yourself because you aren't someone else. The people I am in awe of are those who keep going when everything is gone, those who step back to allow someone else's light to shine, those who are the encouraging word or the helping hand which helps others step into their greatness and go on to achieve the accolades and the fame. Every child ever born has the seed of divine greatness within them we simply need to start recognizing it in ourselves and others.
I Don't Want to Be Oprah