Remember when the Texas cattle ranchers sued Oprah for supposedly defaming the beef industry? Well, Oprah’s “What I Know For Sure” column this month talks about that episode in her life. She didn’t really understand why this was happening, and even though she believes everything happens for a reason, she couldn’t quite figure out what this was supposed to teach her.
And then she went on the stand. The prosecuting attorney tried to paint a picture of Oprah that made her out to be a manipulator as she conspired against the beef industry. As she listened, she “got very still inside” and told herself that the words they said didn’t define her accurately. Then she realized what she was supposed to learn: “I realized that whether you’re on trial or you’re going through a trial–difficulty, pain, illness, heartache–the trial stands outside of you, flailing, ranting and raging, trying to tell you who you are.”
She goes on to say that nobody can tell you who you are–you alone can define yourself. You just have to trust that who you are is OK and that no matter what happens, you’ll be just fine.
