The following is a guest post from one of our Entertainment contributors, Malayna Dawn. Enjoy!
Dear John Travolta: We know you are multi-talented and have played many characters, but lately it seems like you may be having trouble expressing your true self – at least in ways that the public can understand and appreciate.
Press coverage of the Oscar evening, in addition to the face touching and chin-holding, seem to paint a picture of a guy who needs some extra hugs, to be accepted for who he is and maybe some authentic connection.
Press and social media only catch pieces of a whole story, but consider this — what if it all starts with how you feel about yourself? Are you giving yourself acceptance? Are you spending time in authentic connection with who you really are?
This may be what the journey of life is really all about for all of us. Thanks for the shining that light! Give yourself a hug from all your fans.
Dear Oprah: You looked gorgeous in that exquisite dress, and we are grateful that your body shape changes over time. We want to believe that people will recognize our wisdom, beauty, strength and energy, and celebrate it, without rejecting it because we don’t fit their ideal.
Your journey to find peace with your body image shows us that having all the money in the world, the luxury of time and paid staff, the wisdom of a spiritual master and sharp business acumen, won’t fix every challenge we face.
We see you focusing your seemingly endless energy on deep soul- fulfillment, rather than exercising constantly to please anyone. That living life to the fullest means enjoying opportunities presented.
We shared your excitement over a Lego Oscar, and we too were enthralled by “Glory”. Thanks for being an example of how wonderful we can all be, in all of our humanness.
Dear Patricia Arquette: Thank you for sharing your Oscar-winning moment to shine a light for women, especially those who may find themselves in the role you played – a working mother.
To see you as beautiful and changeably human, talented and capable, committed to your creative work and also doing good things on behalf of others is inspiring. While you began a discussion based on where you were, online the cries of “What about us?” have at least gotten others interested in the discussion about Equality.
We also love the work you’ve done with GiveLove.org, because equality begins with basic sanitation and health, and then can expand to creating ecological and socially sustainable jobs for all.
Let’s all work for it together!
Dear Graham Moore : You are awesome. By being willing to tell your truth, be vulnerable and celebrate your triumph, you invited us all to join you. Your rallying cry of “Stay weird…” has resonated with us all. And what you’ve shown is that we can make it through dark times, harness our weirdness as authenticity and ride it to create our destiny.
We see through your journey that what seems like weaknesses can be the key to our strengths. By championing ourselves, we can champion others. And that we can advocate for those who are outside of our own experience, because we are all human, and equality should include us all.
We are so excited to see where your journey goes next! Thank you for letting us all ride along.
Dear John Legend & Common: (or should we say, “Dear John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn”? Just to make it official…)
Thank you. In the middle of the celebration of the Season for Nonviolence – the 64 days between the memorial anniversaries of Gandhi and MLK, your few minutes on this telecast moved the world.
You each followed your musical performance with eloquent words that inspired and then raised a call to action.
Thanks for educating and empowering us all to sing for freedom!
Dear Lady Gaga: Thank you for showing us how to transcend a box when it has been labeled and left unexamined. Many may have written you off as an avant-garde performance artist, whose style they could not appreciate. But you showed that beneath the best artists lay a combination of talent and skill, and when applied with passion can light up the world. Your joy was infectious, and Julie Andrews’ approval was beautifully satisfying for us all. Keep surprising us all and reaching out to new audiences! We love it!