Make Room for the Unimaginable

"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."
~ Mary Oliver

This week, many of us tuned in to Oprah's last show - which spanned - practically my son's entire life to date. I remember watching the show during its humble beginnings while he toddled around the family room. So, in many ways, Oprah, my son and I "grew" up together, and she and I are also about the same age...

Oprah's last show focused on the lessons she had learned throughout the years, which was my original title for this entry. But then, I came across this quote by Mary Oliver, and it was evident to me, that if we truly implemented all that Oprah suggested, we would give birth to a life and world that is, in many ways, unimaginable, but fully possible...

Some parting words from Oprah:

"You are not alone...

We are all called. Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get about the business of doing it...And that is what I want for all of you... To live from the heart of yourself...Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence...You will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have...

Nobody but you is responsible for your life... You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you're responsible for the energy you bring to others...

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction... It is the Golden Rule to the 10th power...

There is a common thread that runs through all of our pain, and all of our suffering, and that is unworthiness...We often block our blessings because we don't feel inherently good or smart enough or pretty enough or worthy enough...Your being here, your being alive makes you worthiness your birthright. You alone are enough.

Every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire. They want to know: Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you? Validate them: I see you. I hear you. And what you say matters to me.

I have felt the presence of God my whole life...Be still and know it... I wait and I listen. I'm still - I wait and listen for the guidance that is greater than my meager mind... The only time I've ever made a mistake is when I didn't listen...

Whispers are always messages, and if you don't hear them, they turn into a problem. And if you don't handle the problem, it turns into a crisis, and then into a disaster...

I understand the manifestation of grace and God, so I know that there are no coincidences. There is only divine order here..."

There is a complete transcript of this last show that is available on Oprah.com which is worth reading in its entirety...

In the last couple of days, I have come across other brief inspirational messages, and I am blessed to have received so many profound insights. I will share just a few of them:

"Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find all the barriers
within yourself that you have built against it."
~ A Course in Miracles

"Every happiness is the child of a separation
it did not think it could survive."
~ Rilke

"We have what we seek,
it is there all the time,
and if we give it time,
it will make itself known to us."
~ Thomas Merton

"If you accept a limiting belief,
then it will become a truth for you."
~ Louise Hay

And finally, a song from the early 90's which was featured in a movie I saw today, reminded me of the importance and the incredible power we have to change our lives and make a difference, so I share a portion of it:

Hold On
By Wilson Phillips

I know this pain
Why do lock yourself up in these chains?
No one can change your life except for you
Don't ever let anyone step all over you
Just open your heart and your mind
Is it really fair to feel this way inside?

Some day somebody's gonna make you want to
Turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them
Hold you down and make you cry
Don't you know?
Don't you know things can change
If you hold on for one more day...

You could sustain
Or are you comfortable with the pain?
You've got no one to blame for your unhappiness
You've got yourself into your own mess
Lettin' your worries pass you by
Don't you think it's worth your time
To change your mind?

I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one day and
Break free the chains...

So yes - break free of whatever chains hold you back. As a friend once told me, during a very trying time in my life - believe that this river of life is taking you to the ocean of the unimaginable, and be - the unique manifestation of the Divine that your are. Do not deprive the world of that light!