Primary

Oprah Winfrey recently conducted a series of interviews about childhood trauma. On the 60 Minutes broadcast she learned about “trauma-informed care”, an approach to facilitating healing and correcting behavior in adults and children. On a special web exclusive available after the broadcast, Winfrey remarked that the investigation was the most impactful exploration she’s ever experienced.  The life-changing broadcast taught her not only how to consider what has happened to a person when trying to understand and break through their behavioral barriers, but also the importance of relationships in facilitating healing.

Winfrey remarked that her relationship with her fourth grade teacher helped to facilitate her own healing from a traumatic childhood. She went on to recount how school became the primary place where she experienced acceptance, value, love.

Photo by Celia Ortega on Unsplash

In 2007, Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa. I suspect that the school was born out of Winfrey’s own desire to perpetuate the love she experienced. It seems we always circle back to the places where we feel validated.

School. Work. Disney World. Church. In the arms of a man or woman. Grandma’s kitchen. These places, experiences, foster thoughts and habits that influence who we reveal ourselves to be later in life. Today, Winfrey holds many titles as a media mogul and is also known as a woman who advances female education.

Who are you when you circle back to your primary place? Does your primary place need to change so that you can positively influence the world?