Maria Shriver on Oprah

I made a date with my hubby last night to watch Oprah because her guest of the day was Ms. Maria Shriver. She is one of the women I look up to in the world. I had the opportunity to meet her years ago at a bodybuilding event and I was honored and thrilled. You can imagine me poking around in my closet trying to decide what to wear, thinking the whole time "now, what would Maria wear?" For a woman of 52 (and one who is very open about her age... good for her) she looks fantastic!

I learned a lot during the hour. She was very open with the viewers yesterday. As one woman said, she made herself transparent to the viewers because she came clean about things troubling her in her life. We all glamorize people of relative fame, and expect them to have no issues. It's not true, as I learned yesterday. A woman of her class and stature being truthful about her life is encouraging to all of us. As I've told my girls many time, we all put our pants on one leg at a time. There is no need to be perfect, but there is a need to be out there giving it your all in life and giving it a try. Her honesty about the fact that she feels she is still learning and is not finished yet makes me feel like we are all just beginning, too. The learning curve is steep, but the point is we are out there trying.  These are inspirational words.

Maria Shriver is involved in many projects as the First Lady of California. Two stand out in my mind. She has created 10 Steps to Healthy Living (read them here). Check out the list and review it with your kids. Another campaign is the Minerva Women's Awards given out at the Minerva Conference, which is held in October (read more here). She reaches out to women and I'd like to be there one day soaking up that empowering experience. 

It was an hour packed full of honesty, inspiration, and motivation.

Bottom Line: keeping giving life a try... one day at a time... don't let it pass you by...