On Wednesday 29th January 2014, media mogul and world’s
famous woman Oprah Winfrey turned the solid 60. Oprah wanted to celebrate with
a big party but the guest list was reportedly getting too long, so she decided
to cancel and opt for an intimate party.
She shared images of her day on her Instagram page with fresh
red roses from actress Cicely Tyson(pictured above). She got tons of gifts and had a refreshing
glass of iced tea with Maria Shriver.
Before her 60th, Oprah Winfrey wrote a special birthday
message on opening your heart on her official website.
Read it below; more pictures after the cut
Sixty. I’m turning 60 this month! I’m so glad I’ve lived
long enough to say those words and celebrate their meaning.
I’m turning 60. I’m alive. Healthy. Strong.
I’m turning 60, and—please don’t take offense—I no longer
have to be concerned about what anyone thinks of me! (You know, the old Am I
doing it right? Am I saying it right? Am I being what or who I’m “supposed” to
be?) I’m turning 60, and I’ve earned the right to be just as I am. I’m more
secure in being myself than I’ve ever been.
I have reached the moment Derek Walcott describes in his
beautiful poem “Love After Love”: “…with elation / you will greet yourself
arriving / at your own door, in your own mirror / and each will smile at the
other’s welcome.”
I am in awe of the way my journey here on earth continues to
unfold. My life has been marked by miracles for as long as I can recall—and
even before. (My entire existence is the result of a onetime frolic under an
oak tree.) My early days speaking in a Mississippi Methodist church—Baptist
leanings, shoutin’, and Holy Ghost included—prepared me for a future of
speaking in a public arena I could never have imagined.
And now, at 60, I simply want to share what I’ve been given.
I want to continue to encourage as many people as I can to open their hearts to
life, because if I know anything for sure, it’s that opening my own heart is
what has brought me my greatest success and joy.
My highest achievement: never shutting my heart down. Even
in my darkest moments—through sexual abuse, a pregnancy at 14, lies and
betrayals—I remained faithful, hopeful, and open to seeing the best in people,
regardless of whether they were showing me their worst. I stayed open to
believing that no matter how hard the climb, there is always a way to let in a
sliver of light to illuminate the path forward.
We go through life discovering the truth about who we are
and determining who has earned the right to share the personal space within our
heart.
This I also know for sure: God—however you define or refer
to Him, Her, or It—is for us. The forces of nature are for us, offering us life
in abundance. We humans narrow what is an open field of wonder and majesty to
the myopic reality of our day-to-day experiences. But there is extraordinary in
the ordinary. Every day and every breath is magic—if we can only see it for
what it is.
Some days the awareness of the sanctity and sacredness of
life brings me to my knees with gratitude. I’m still trying to wrap my head
around the idea that the little girl from Mississippi who grew up holding her
nose in an outhouse now flies on her own plane—my own plane!—to Africa to help
girls who grew up like her. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!
I approach this milestone, the landmark of 60, with
humility, supreme thanksgiving, and joy. Knowing for sure grace has brought me
safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
Credits: Oprah.com
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