One explanation for Oprah’s success is that she provides a missing fundamental to our basic education; she teaches us how to relate to others and ourselves in ways that have us experience more power, joy and love in our lives.
Unnecessary suffering
Watching Oprah is like being witness to testimony of ruined lives, pain and suffering, and more importantly, to the healing and transformation that is possible to everyone.
This (healing and transformation) comes through Oprah and her guests sharing their deep experiences, and knowledge about life, in particular what works and doesn’t work in our relationships with others and with ourselves.
But isn’t it a shame that we have to wait till we’re well into our thirties, forties or older, before we’re exposed to these great wisdoms of the ages on Oprah, Dr. Phil or in the self-help section of our favorite bookstore?
If only as kids, teenagers and young adults we had begun learning these philosophies, techniques and practices we would have a lot more healthy relationships in our lives and we could have avoided much of the pain and suffering that many of us carry around like baggage.
To the extent that these technologies exist (and they are technologies), and we don’t learn them or use them, then we suffer unnecessarily.
Education is the access to great relationships
And it’s not that we only need this education when we’re older.
Hogwash!
We begin having relationship issues at two.
Learning to get along is not an innate skill—just look at kids playing together, or the guests on Dr. Phil.
- We need to be taught how to get along.
- We need to be taught the importance or value of getting along, of building relationships.
- We need to be taught that there are other places to look besides there are good people and bad people (and there are a lot more bad people) to explain why relationships work or not.
- We need to be taught that there are other explanations for why your life is not working out besides your being a bad, undeserving, unworthy, inadequate person.
- We need to be taught why the commitments we make to each other are important to the relationships we build and to who we are in the world.
- … the list goes on.
What is so clearly lacking is a powerful curriculum in our basic eduction to teach people these technologies when it could make the biggest difference to their lives: as teenagers and young adults. Maybe even younger.
So we leave it to people like Tony and Oprah
That’s why people like Oprah and Tony Robbins are making millions hand over fist. Our governments leave it up to free enterprise to provide this fundamental gap in our basic education. Thank God, that this education does exist, but it’s provided only to a very select few or via the hard knocks of life.
It doesn’t have to be that way. We could do better. We could prepare our children much better than we were for living a great life.
I’m curious. What will it take before learning to relate to each other (at fundamental emotional levels) is included as a basic pillar into our educational systems?
Any why don’t Tony and Oprah take the lead in designing this education? They’ll help future generations live better lives, and they’ll still have enough already broken or hungry spirits out there to feed their TV shows and seminars. What a great legacy to leave behind.
If you know of any courses or experiences that help people learn and practice what it takes to have better relationships, please let us know on MorevidaReviews a website where ambitious people share the personal development courses that are helping them live a great life.
Any thoughts? Contributions/acknowledgments welcome.