By 
Every week, Oprah is setting an intention exclusively for Oprah Daily Insiders, with reflections on topics like letting go, forgiveness, coming into your own, and more.
Good Sunday to you.
What a week we have had here in California. It’s been so triggering because this past Monday, January 9, was five years to the day that mudslides destroyed so many homes and took so many lives. On the exact same day five years later, we were all asked to evacuate our homes again. All is better now, except for those still recovering. It has been quite the time.
This is also a time when people start to think about new health wellness practices they can adapt to live a better life at the start of another year. There is so much focus on wellness and well-being—it starts to feel like a game. You are tracking everything—your steps, how many carbs you eat, your sleep.
In the latest Oprah Quarterly, writer Elise Loehnen suggests that we instead switch our focus to cultivating wholeness—something she defines as a personal quest to figure out what fulfills us, no exterior standards validate this. As she explains in the piece: Wholeness requires us to put aside one’s ego to allow something bigger to emerge; to move past self-obsession and self-optimization to reconcile our relationship to the collective and the planet instead.
I could not agree more. Years ago, for the second edition of O, The Oprah Magazine—this would be around 23 years ago—I interviewed Jane Fonda. I was struck by how evolved she was. She said, “I’m no longer striving to be perfect, because I know it’s not attainable. I strive for wholeness.” It was the first time I had heard that word used in that way. She said, “I want to be whole.” That stayed with me. Now I think the culture is catching up, as evidenced by Loehnen’s article.
Understanding and achieving wholeness? I’ve got to say, it takes a lot of work. It’s about tuning out all the chatter around you and being able to listen to the most important authority around you—and that is yourself. Then, it’s about releasing any notions of perfection because that is not the goal. Progress is the goal—progress toward a space where you feel more whole and complete. And, as I mentioned last week, letting every single step move you in the direction of your own race rather than trying to keep up with someone else.
I want to know what you all think about the word wholeness and what it means—or would mean—in your life. I can’t wait to hear your comments. Leave them below and have a great week.
