While most people live--rightfully so--for Fridays, my heart longs for Sunday mornings cuddled up on my couch with pen and paper in hand. It has become a beloved and almost sacred ritual in my life. It’s my soulful Sunday.
Oprah’s move from daytime talk to her very own network in 2011 spawned my favorite television show: Super Soul Sunday. She sits down with today’s greatest thought leaders, asks life’s big questions, and tackles the topics that we’re facing in our lives from forgiveness with Elie Wiesel, to vulnerability with Dr. Brene Brown, to what we do when we’re in a job that doesn’t honor our true calling with Wes Moore. For an hour, my heart is filled with the inspiration, guidance, and reflection that I need to fully live up to the person I believe I was made to become. I’m usually so moved that I rocket off the couch to the nearest Barnes and Noble to pick up the guest’s book so I can learn more.
Let’s be honest, in today’s TV programming, this is a rarity. I’ll admit that I get lost in the Real Housewives of NYC on Wednesday nights because drama is way more fun to watch than to live through, but Super Soul Sunday, in my opinion, is unlike anything on television today. Any given SSS episode leaves me asking myself questions that force me to grow and evaluate whether I’m making decisions out of comfort or courage, whether I am standing up to injustice or being a bystander, or whether I am writing the story of my own life or handing the pen over to someone else. Every week my mind is opened more and more to the world and what’s truly happening in it.
This might be the reason I love the show the most: I’m forced to think. I sometimes find myself navigating my day just going through the motions. We all do. We get so busy with our responsibilities that we struggle to find the time to take a good hard look at parts of our lives and life in general that truly need reflection, and sometimes it just takes someone else bringing it to light. This world and our lives need it though. We need to be reflective. We need to have the hard conversations, and we need to think on our own. I am tired of talking about Kim Kardashian and overpaid athletes. I want to talk about what matters. I want to talk about what will create the change our world so desperately needs.
Super Soul Sunday introduced me to Dr. Brene Brown who has been the catalyst for my ferocious dedication to living a brave and vulnerable life, and it even has given me the life changing experience of working with her this summer on an educational course for teachers. It introduced me to Elizabeth Gilbert who helped me honor my joy and gave me the push to live my life on my own terms. I’ve followed both around the country, having the extreme honor of meeting and speaking with them. Super Soul Sunday introduced me to Wes Moore yesterday who opened my eyes to the undeniable fact that it’s my job to follow my calling, the work that makes my heart beat faster, because that’s what will make me extraordinary.
It’s television worth carving an hour out of your week for. It’s television worth watching with those who you can open up with and talk about what’s important. It’s television worth journaling about. What stuck out? What questions do you have? Reflect on the messages and how it can fit into your life. No one’s path is the same, but the ideas fit for every different type of journey. It’s television worth engaging with. Jump on social media and take part in conversation with people around the world who are watching the same messages as you, too. Seeing the same thing through someone else’s eyes is undeniably powerful. It’s television worth taking the time to build off of. Find books of the guests and delve deeper into the material. Find their TED talks or other YouTube videos and listen to more of their research or lessons. I have never once believed I have all the answers. People are wealths of knowledge, and the more we can learn from them, the better off we can be.
I wake up on Sunday mornings ready to be enlightened, ready to be inspired, and ready to learn. Countless articles and adventures have been ignited from my hour with Oprah and her guests. I encourage others to join in the fun. The show airs at 10 A.M. or 6:00 P.M. central time on OWN. If you don’t have the channel, you can always go online and watch episodes at http://www.oprah.com/app/super-soul-sunday.html or download the free Watch OWN app on your phone. I promise you won’t be alone. You’ll join an army of people who enjoy their soulful Sundays as much as I do.