Oprah’s Big Question: What If You Saw Things Differently?

This post is a continuation of my series of answering the Big Questions addressed by Oprah in O, The Oprah Magazine each month. As you know, Oprah called 2018 The Year of Big Questions. These are the types of questions that cause you to do some soul searching. Some months the answers are easy, clear and readily apparent. Other months one may need to dig a little deeper. September’s big question is “What if you saw things differently? Goodbye closed mind – hello open heart!”

Answering September’s Big Question:

I read through the variety of articles in the magazine that addressed this question. As always, this made me think of situations in my own life where I feel like I’ve shifted my mind or my attitude about something and this shift may have opened a door, changed a relationship, etc.

1. The first thing that comes to my mind right now is my fear of flying. My fear started about 20 years ago. It got progressively worse for me as I got older. My fear was actually addressed in the August issue of O Magazine by a very experienced airline pilot. I’ve used his advice on several flights that I was on recently.

I felt like the fact that I put the words to paper for the whole world to see meant that I was finally ready to face the fear. I want everyone to know that I recently actually asked my husband if I could go on one of his upcoming overseas trips with him. I’m viewing planes and flying as a vessel to get me to amazing destinations so I can experience our beautiful world. Who knows, I may end up becoming a travel blogger one day!!

2. One time when my family and I were in NYC for vacation and were rushing to the airport to catch a flight to a family reunion a huge storm rolled in. Needless to say, our flight was cancelled. The earliest the airline could get us to our destination was a few days later after the family reunion was over. We ended up renting a car and driving from NY to Michigan. Rather than looking at this as an inconvenience, I told my kids that we were on an adventure. It turned out to actually be a lot of fun and something we still talk about.

3. I have a friend who is in jail for a serious crime. This is a blogging friend that I met online years ago and never actually met in person. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw her picture on the cover of a magazine in her orange jumpsuit. I’m going to say that I wasn’t surprised though because I knew what she was going through (this doesn’t make her crime any less serious). She doesn’t deny that she has regret and remorse for the crime and wishes it never happened. She hates herself for it.

I have chosen to remain her online friend and we write back and forth to one another while she serves her time. She is doing good things while in jail to help the other women in any way she can, from teaching classes and leading groups. I could have abandoned her and our friendship. However, I’ve kept an open mind and have an important friendship (for both of us) because of this.

We all have the ability to change our view or our minds, to think openly. Doing so can open doors, promote friendships, raise awareness, help others and more. I think being close-minded doesn’t help you or anyone around you. A lot of times it just festers anger and resentment. Life’s too short for that!

Do you have any of your own experiences with seeing things differently that has changed something in your life? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

You can read about last month’s Big Question here.