The Wisdom of the Oprah

Yeah, I've been watching Oprah. She comes on at 4 here, and by 4 I am usually sick of whatever I've been doing all day and I'm ready to sit down and knit and watch TV.

This week, Oprah had two episodes that actually caused me to sit down and watch. One was the follow-up to The Secret. The Secret is, for those who have been maybe in a coma or had a real job or whatever for the past couple of years, another repackaging of the Law of Attraction concept.

So, yesterday I did see an online job worth sending a resume - ONE job, and it was in the real estate area. And I only considered it because the salary was in my bracket - only a smallish pay cut, therefore insanely generous for this area. And I thought about sending a resume, but after talking to Cousin C and Boy, and even - yeah, my MOTHER - the unanimous opinion was that it was crazy to even bother to apply for a job that is in the same industry that is still sinking around here. So, never mind that one.

This morning there was another job possibility in a different field for which I am very qualified. It is located in this area, and so I will send a resume, because it could be good.

And this is where the Reality of the Catherine runs smack into The Secret and The Law of Attraction - how does one go about attracting one's heart's desire when one isn't sure what the hell that IS?

In these crazy-making weeks of unemployment and home beautification, I am wrestling with this question basically all day. In fact, this question is probably responsible for my current wheel-spinning stagnation. Maybe the Universe isn't sure what to send to me because I have no clue what to ask.

I'm reaching the conclusion that my real heart's desire is early retirement. The dog is in favor of this, he feels I could fill my days with brushing and walking him. I think I'd add knitting and writing and some volunteer work - I've always wanted to enroll the Bossy One in the Delta Society. He'd be so good at this. So yeah, my heart's desire appears to be early retirement. I think I've earned it, but it don't pay too good. So I have to come up with an alternative heart's desire, one that would not leave me living under an overpass.

Meanwhile, I am busy filling boxes. I packed boxes of office and craft things, the things that will occupy the second bedroom in my next living space. Elsewhere. Wherever that may be. Doing Something. Whatever that may be. I am sure that the answer will appear, but right now I can't see it.

The other Oprah of the Week that amused me was yesterday's, on the relationship between too much clutter in the home and too much junk in the trunk - how your clutter and pack rat ways can make you fat. I do think there is a relationship between weight and being a pack rat - like compulsive shopping and other hoarding behaviors, overeating is the attempt to fill an emptiness with stuff. So, why isn't the opposite also true? I've unloaded hundreds of pounds of stuff from this house over the last few months - why am I not a size 0?

The other question: Why is it that people who are godawfully out of control get a fairy godmother like Oprah to swoop in with a team of remodelers and thousands of dollars of new furniture and appliances and goodness, while the rest of us who don't live with dog poop in the bedrooms have to slog along and do it all on our own time and money? Isn't this, like, rewarding them for really screwing up their lives? And how is this lovely makeover going to change the behavior that led to the chaos they lived in before - did Oprah throw in a few years of family counseling, and I just missed it?

Speaking of unloading clutter and things, am I the last person to know about this? earth911 I found it by following a link on Huffington Post. It's a one-stop resource for recycling centers and such.

Time to fill a few more boxes. Then I'm picking up the granddog for his weekend with grandma. Actual knitting content later, really!