Are We All Part of Oprah’s “Old” Earth?

I watched part of Oprah (www.oprah.com) today while I worked out. Please know that I like Oprah and thank her for introducing a lot of light into our lives. Perhaps it's time to return the favor?

Oprah was interviewing Mariah Carey (www.mariahcarey.com) and most of the interview wasn’t about Mariah’s singing, or breaking Elvis’ record for the most #1 singles by an individual, or even her new album (although, yes, I did hear Miss Carey’s unique definition of E=MC2 several times). Nope, as you would expect from Oprah, most of the conversation revolved around Mariah’s tiny waistline . . . and it obviously wasn’t a spontaneous observation as the show included several taped “Here’s what I eat, and here’s how I work out” segments of Mariah in her NYC apartment with her chef-slash-personal trainer.

What does all this have to do with the environment? Well, I’m getting to that! With so many important issues to discuss, why do we care about the current weight of a singer? And why do we glorify things like having a 3,000-square-foot closet?

Oprah has done past shows on green living (which is fantastic) but I wish Oprah walked more of the walk. She shouldn’t put as much attention as she does on the superficial. Mariah may be skinny, but is she healthy? I’d rather hear about how eating organic, local produce makes her feel better, how someone so rich still turns off the light switch every time she leaves the room, and how being truly emancipated means she’s no longer concerned with having a closet just for her lingerie.

I’m looking for true, relevant conversations about issues that matter to all of our lives.

Oprah’s fixation with weight has been a public obsession for years. I just hope all her “enlightenment” from Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose will really change her and some of the angles of her show. I understand no one is perfect and that we’re all on a journey, even Oprah, but I sometimes have an issue with Oprah singing the virtues of life’s purpose while being so obviously influenced by the way people look. If she does change, the next time Miss Carey is on her show, maybe the conversation will dip far below the surface. That is, after all, where the truth lives.

Question of the blog: Can you be enlightened and superficial?