Oprah and Skeletons Falling Out of Closets
The news of Oprah reuniting with a half-sister almost a half-century later is potent stuff. It gives us reason to look to our own families and wonder where the skeletons still sit in locked closets.
While reality television leaves little to the imagination it is still not about digging deep and seeking for the truth. It is about how to be more and more outrageous, nasty, and mean-spirited to grab headlines.
Oprah, on the other hand, met her sister months ago and spent time getting used to the idea that her mother had a child given up at birth when Oprah was eight. She, the high profile woman she is, let the rest of us into her private world with dignity and grace.
This leads to the question “What difference does it make if she has a sister she never met till now? Who cares?” Answer that gets a grade of “A” is “It makes a world of difference and we should all care”.
Here is why it matters. In almost every family there are skeletons; they may not be as dramatic as giving a child up for adoption, yet they sit there like scabs on wounds and end up so often becoming patterns we repeat in our own lives without understanding why.
EXAMPLE: John recently filed for bankruptcy blaming it on the economy. Then he found out before he was born his father had done the same and the older man felt ashamed, blaming it on the economy till this day. When the “secret” came out John realized he had “inherited” the tendency to be a victim from his father.
EXAMPLE: Debbie was obsessed with getting her PhD even though she was secure in her job and there was really no time for such a venture. Then the “secret” came out that her revered father had faked his degree, including the piece of paper framed on the wall. Debbie was able to look at her obsession with being a super achiever and make positive changes to alleviate the oppressive stress she always felt to be the best.
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