2 min readEvery week, Oprah sets an intention exclusively for Oprah Daily Insiders, with reflections on topics like letting go, forgiveness, coming into your own, and more.
Happy Sunday, Insiders.
Out of everything I’ve read this year—and you all know I read a lot—no book touched me more than Theo of Golden. This book about an elderly man who sends pencil portraits to his neighbors and asks for their life stories in return will make you feel better about yourself and your own life, and make you notice other people in a new way. It truly is a bomb of good feelings. And even more wonderful, it was written by a self-published author in his sixties who never expected his first novel to become such an enormous success.
I was honored to talk to that author, the incredible Allen Levi, on a recent episode of The Oprah Podcast. While many parts of our conversation stayed with me—you truly have to listen!—he told me something later, long after the cameras were off, that I wanted to share with you.
Allen doesn't run his own Instagram account, and he rarely carries his phone with him. So when the episode came out, he got home from somewhere and found his phone filled with messages of congratulations from friends and family near and far—a huge, wholly unexpected outpouring of love. It was “happy lightning,” he told me: a sense of intense joy and gratitude that strikes all at once.
I love this idea of happy lightning. Storms have a negative connotation, but sometimes joy is equally powerful and electric. We don’t appreciate those moments, and the people who make them possible, nearly as much as we should.
When was the last time you were struck by happy lightning?
Let's hear it right here.
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Oprah Winfrey is a global media leader, producer, philanthropist, actress and author. Over the course of her esteemed career, she has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world, making her one of the most respected and admired figures today. For 25 years, Winfrey was host and producer of the award-winning talk show “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” engaging in a range of multifaceted cultural conversations. Currently, Oprah oversees Harpo Entertainment, hosts the award-winning series “The Oprah Podcast,” serves as chairman and CEO of OWN, and is the founder of O, The Oprah Magazine and OprahDaily.com.
In 1996, Oprah’s Book Club launched, serving as a catalyst for the creation of book clubs around the world and millions of books sold across genres. In 2013, she was awarded the Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2018, Oprah became the first African American woman to be honored with the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award, and in 2022, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Additionally, Oprah has donated nearly $500 million to philanthropic efforts in the United States and around the world, with a focus on youth education, supporting over 72,000 individuals. 2027 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy (OWLAG), with a recent independent study in South Africa showing the Academy has been a disruptor of poverty in the region.
