Here's How My Day With Oprah Taught Me to Live in the Moment

It was nearly a year ago that we woke up bright and early on a cold and grey Saturday morning and headed to the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, to join an arena full of people and Lady O herself. Full disclosure, I have such a crappy memory that I can't walk you through this magical day in vivid detail, but as Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." That day I felt more energized, inspired, and moved than I had in a long time. Oprah talked about dropping little pieces of light. And that's exactly what she did for the thousands of souls in attendance.

As we found our seats, we immediately started rifling through our gift bags to see what kind of presents Oprah gave us. That was followed by an awesome DAYBREAKER dance party to start the morning off strong. You could just feel the collective excitement, energy, and community in the air. After that, the next several hours are somewhat of a tearful blur.

Oprah walked out on stage to a huge Minnesota welcome and a Minnesota theme. She personalized the experience for each city she was in. For our great North Star state, she danced to a Prince song, talked about visiting the Mary Tyler Moore statue, and made sure to let us out of there to make it home in time for the Vikings game.

The tour was entitled Oprah's 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus. The purpose was to find your personal path to wellness. In our gift bag was a workbook to guide us throughout the day, and jot down little nuggets of wisdom along the way.

The workbook began with this:

The foundation of your wellness journey is presence – quieting the chatter in your head, feeling yourself in the moment, and knowing you are okay. Presence leads to clarity, and ultimately, to the joy of being alive.

Be present.

Let go of yesterday. Put thoughts of tomorrow at bay. You are here. Now. Full of energy. Flooded with calm. Engaged in the one and only moment.

I mean… YES. It felt like a Sunday worship service and we were all praising Preacher O. I was struggling with being in the moment even in that moment. I was trying so hard to absorb everything she was saying, while also taking notes and trying to snap a few photos in between. First, Oprah told us to complete the self-assessment in the workbook and please, I'll do whatever Oprah tells me to do. We had to answer questions in each of the following categories: emotions, learning, work, nutrition, movement, purpose, and relationships. This helped to narrow down your focus for your mind, body, and spirit and your intention for the day and year ahead.

In between the workbook and Oprah's motivational magic – she had stirring music, moving meditation, meaningful videos, poignant guest speakers, and inspirational activities. One of the highlights for me was Julianne Hough's KINRGY exercise. It was an exercise in movement, but so much more. At some point during Andra Day singing "Rise Up" and Julianne telling me to close my eyes and reach out for my dreams, I lost it. I looked over at my friend and she was quite literally in between two sobbing Kate's.

As if I weren't already emotional enough, the day ended with Tina Fey. To be in the same room as these two women having a conversation reminiscent of Oprah's show, was just - beyond. Not only is Tina in the industry of my dreams, but her silliness, sarcasm, and contribution of fun and humor to society are pretty much my life goals.

While I resolve to be present, I want to be clear that I still think planning is necessary. It helps you to be prepared, eliminate inefficacies, and get the most out of life. As Monica Geller would say, "That's just good sense." Looking back at my writing in the workbook from last year, my intention was to stop all the worry and anxiety. I wrote that this would allow me to live in the moment and live with intent. It's that day-to-day chatter in my head and anxieties about past and future that I'm trying to calm. Instead of endlessly checking off a literal and metaphorical list – just enjoying the walk I'm on, the conversation I'm having and the moment I'm in. Not always looking ahead to the next thing. Not always trying to control everything. Not always replaying that comment or scenario in my head. Not always living by that agenda, but allowing for freedom, peace, spontaneity, wonder, and joy of today.

Oprah explains the importance of having clear intentions. I sometimes feel like mine are a jumbled contradiction, but when I look back on the last year, I realize many of them have come to fruition. I think without realizing it, I've slowly been making decisions to get me there. I've moved home to be with my family, I've kept up my writing hobby, and I've steered my job in the direction I'd like my career to go. While I still have big dreams and goals and will continue working toward them, I want to make sure not to lose the present moment. I am exactly where I want to be right now.

Practicing gratitude every day is a habit I've embraced this year; I'm even starting to see the beauty in winter which is saying something. I think we all need to learn from the past, to be held accountable, but also let it go. We should be prepared and excited for the future, but not lose sense of the present. So, I'm going into 2021 with that same intention.

As Oprah says…

"Nourish what makes you feel confident, connected, contented. Opportunity will rise to meet you."

Katharine Kalan is an account manager by day, wannabe writer by night, cat mom, dog sister and loving daughter from the north woods of Minnesota. She recently decided to give this writing thing a go with a lighthearted blog called Couch Potato Curator. She hopes that her silly little musings put a smile on someone's face! You can follow her @couchpotatocurator and @couchcurator.