Oprah Winfrey on Dec. 6, 2023.Photo:Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Oprah Winfreyis quietly reflecting on her memories as she celebrates a milestone birthday.
In the essay, she wrote that she felt “such pressure from all my friends to do something big, something special; to have a dinner, a party or luncheon — or to go somewhere like a spa, a hike, a resort or to meditate in Nepal.”
“So that’s what I’ve been doing — going through old journals, photos, memory boxes, feasting, savoring and marveling at the discovery, pain, joy and wonder of 70 years of growing into the woman I am,” she added.
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Elsewhere in the essay, Winfrey said she found a letter friendGayle Kingwrote her in 1992 that she said appeared to be related topublic commentary surrounding her weight. Winfrey said she couldn’t remember the event that sparked the letter, and that finding the note reminded her that “everything passes.”
“What I celebrate this birthday (and beyond) is knowing that the person I know myself to be and the work that has come straight frombeinghas mattered,” Winfrey wrote.
“At my age, you recognize the poignancy of time passing. Seventy resonates, letting you know for sure that there are not as many years remaining as you’ve already consumed. I take great satisfaction in accepting that regardless of how many more suns are left — the rising each time has been worth it.”
Oprah Winfrey.Amy Sussman/Getty
Amy Sussman/Getty
Whenshe spoke to PEOPLE for a cover storyin December, Winfrey said, “Gratitude really is my religion,” adding that her 1985 movieThe Color Purple"was a spiritual opening for me to see my life in a different way" at that time in her career.
She added that her lifelong purpose is to help uplift others.
“I still continue to rise, and I’m in a space now where my offering is to help other people to rise,” said Winfrey. “The principle that is the underbelly, the cornerstone for how I operate in the world. … Life is better when you share it.“For more on Winfrey and her career, pick upPEOPLE’s new special edition,Oprah: Her Incredible Life,available now.
source: people.com
