Oprah’s announcement to end her long 25 year run talk show came as both a shock and a heartbreak to me. As one of her biggest fans and someone who still hadn’t had the luxury of seeing the Oprah Winfrey show live, I just didn’t feel like I was ready to say good-bye.
After my shock dissipated, curiosity set in. What would make a successful talk show host making millions of dollars an episode, suddenly want to say good-bye?
When Kate Gosselin said sayonara on Jon & Kate Plus 8’s final episode (another show I was sad to see go) she was a well of emotion and not ready to let go.
Yet, when I listened to Gayle King talk to Ms. Winfrey on Oprah radio, it seemed like she had no regrets.
I realized, then, that even in her decision to end the show, Oprah was inspiring.
One of the hardest things I think, is ending something good in your life because it’s not right for you. You may be happy, things might be going well, but like Oprah told Gayle on her radio show she knew it was the right decision because she felt it in her bones. How many people can honor a decision like that just because they knew it was the right thing to do?
People might say you’re crazy. There may be a million reasons why you shouldn’t do it, but if you feel pulled somewhere deep to take that leap or to end something that was once right for you but isn’t right now, maybe we need to listen to ourselves. Maybe we should be like Oprah. Take a chance, believe, and have faith that we may not know the outcome of our choices but can trust our decisions to do what’s best for ourselves.
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The last episode of one of my favorite TV shows “Scrubs” came to its final end recently. I was oh so sad to see this comedy show say its good-byes and it was a reminder to me about how hard it is to let things go. And it doesn’t have to be the big goodbyes that are the hardest. Whether we are saying goodbye to a TV show or a friend, ends are hard because it is an awakening of consciousness that life is short with its own inevitable finale. Some of us avoid ends like the plague by resorting to isolation, not connecting with others, or just by resisting change. I know I’ve been guilty of all three at least once in my life. So how do we learn to accept endings in the most graceful, beneficial way possible? By first grieving the lost of whatever that end brings. Whether it is a saying goodbye to your single self or to your married one, it’s important to fully respect what that ending means to you and represents in your life. The main thing to know is that change will come no matter how hard we try to avoid it. But when we can have the courage to accept it, that’s when we gain the most benefit for ourselves and for others.