Sorry to disappoint you, but no, I haven’t had the privilege to hang out with Justin Timberlake personally. But recently I had some failing health and indulged myself in an Oprah Winfrey episode. To be frank, it’s hard to notice any substance in an individual when you only “get to know them” through the rag mags, entertainment shows, movies, performance videos, or 3 minute interviews on TV. Fortunately, Oprah has a tendency to cut through to important matters more often than most hosts. And she managed to perform true to form on this episode as well.
When she asked Justin what the best advice was that he learned from his years of fame he responded “What you do is not who you are.” I’m sure that somewhere, someone else famous has uttered these same words in my presence; however for some reason this time it hit me. The reason is that I firmly believe that there is opposition in all things. And I do mean all things.
While Justin was attempting to help us see that he doesn’t take the raving fans, the adulation, and fame as a defining mechanism into who he truly is, I looked at it from the opposite view. Surely Justin gets his share of criticisms, dissemination of half truths, and plenty of “haters.” Heck, even Oprah has her share of “haters”. (Remember the beef farmers?? And I’m sure she’s ticked off a few Republicans with her visible support of Obama.) Perhaps the lauds of wonderment or the yelling of hatred is not as magnified to the level that Justin and Oprah experience it. However, it still has influence on all of us. And I agree with Justin that we cannot take the applause NOR the sneers with any degree of seriousness. They do not define who we are. They merely define the position and paradigm of the person who’s launching the praise or destruction. The definition of who we are will never come from this world. It was not intended to be that way. While we are blessed with the occasional friends and confidants who will aid us in tuning in better to the direction we are created to walk and who we are created to be, these resources are not eternal. Only one voice, one still small voice, is assured for us to be true, to be forever, and to have no other agenda other than our happiness. I’m going to try and remember this reminder lesson I’ve learned from Justin. Good or bad. Ecstatic or depressed. I’m the only one who can define me through my actions. And hopefully these actions will always be led by the one true voice.
When she asked Justin what the best advice was that he learned from his years of fame he responded “What you do is not who you are.” I’m sure that somewhere, someone else famous has uttered these same words in my presence; however for some reason this time it hit me. The reason is that I firmly believe that there is opposition in all things. And I do mean all things.
While Justin was attempting to help us see that he doesn’t take the raving fans, the adulation, and fame as a defining mechanism into who he truly is, I looked at it from the opposite view. Surely Justin gets his share of criticisms, dissemination of half truths, and plenty of “haters.” Heck, even Oprah has her share of “haters”. (Remember the beef farmers?? And I’m sure she’s ticked off a few Republicans with her visible support of Obama.) Perhaps the lauds of wonderment or the yelling of hatred is not as magnified to the level that Justin and Oprah experience it. However, it still has influence on all of us. And I agree with Justin that we cannot take the applause NOR the sneers with any degree of seriousness. They do not define who we are. They merely define the position and paradigm of the person who’s launching the praise or destruction. The definition of who we are will never come from this world. It was not intended to be that way. While we are blessed with the occasional friends and confidants who will aid us in tuning in better to the direction we are created to walk and who we are created to be, these resources are not eternal. Only one voice, one still small voice, is assured for us to be true, to be forever, and to have no other agenda other than our happiness. I’m going to try and remember this reminder lesson I’ve learned from Justin. Good or bad. Ecstatic or depressed. I’m the only one who can define me through my actions. And hopefully these actions will always be led by the one true voice.
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