At the start of the year I read this blog post about why a lot of great artists were likely to pass this year (http://elizabethperu.com/blog/2016/1/13/2016-and-the-passing-of-souls). Since Prince died I went back and found it. It contains the following, which I have been thinking about quite a lot:


"... these passings will remind us of the fleeting nature of our Earth life. We are reminded that we are here to express who we are and not just live like robots and slaves to our controlling ways.

When a great artist dies, we again watch, listen and sink into their art form. It brings up memories of times passed, perhaps times when we were free and happy. We then question our own lives and what we are or are not doing to express the beauty within our soul."


This resonates with me so deeply. Do other people here relate to this? If so, what has Prince's passing made you realise about how you're living or not living your own life? What are you wanting to change?


I hope it might be somewhat healing and cathartic to share the positives we've learned from the example Prince gave us of how to live/work/play/love/give/teach... there's no wrong answer, please share if you feel so inclined... I hope this will help us all think about how we can honour Prince's life by how we choose to live the rest of ours.

I don't have time to post mine now (it's long) but I will be back later to.

captiveunicorn said:

Same.
But pretty much everything.
I definitely want to be more creative.

Honestly, I'm just trying to be more positive. I have lots of challenging things going on in my life right now. So trying to be more positive is critical. I need my + sign every day!

Don't look at the past, live and enjoy the life.

But , it's extremely difficult to me right now.

Instant forgiveness.

captiveunicorn said:

At the start of the year I read this blog post about why a lot of great artists were likely to pass this year (http://elizabethperu.com/blog/2016/1/13/2016-and-the-passing-of-souls). Since Prince died I went back and found it. It contains the following, which I have been thinking about quite a lot: "... these passings will remind us of the fleeting nature of our Earth life. We are reminded that we are here to express who we are and not just live like robots and slaves to our controlling ways. When a great artist dies, we again watch, listen and sink into their art form. It brings up memories of times passed, perhaps times when we were free and happy. We then question our own lives and what we are or are not doing to express the beauty within our soul." This resonates with me so deeply. Do other people here relate to this? If so, what has Prince's passing made you realise about how you're living or not living your own life? What are you wanting to change? I hope it might be somewhat healing and cathartic to share the positives we've learned from the example Prince gave us of how to live/work/play/love/give/teach... there's no wrong answer, please share if you feel so inclined... I hope this will help us all think about how we can honour Prince's life by how we choose to live the rest of ours.

Wow, what a good thread. It certainly echoes with what's been in my heart, mind and soul since Prince's passing. I will need to have a further think and come back to it. Thank you for posting this.

This is something I've know for some time now, but chose to ignore it. Prince's passing has really given me reason to pause. I (and most people around me) live in a state of constant unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

Though I've been married for 25 years, I have good kids, I'm close with my siblings, my parents are still alive and both my husband and I have good jobs, I always feel like I'm not going to be happy until 'XYZ' happens. We all need to be happy in the state that we are in. That doesn't mean to not have goals and work to achieve them, but it means to stop feeling like our happiness and joy in life is contingent on something in the future that might not actually ever happen. In other words, be happy for what we have.

I know this doesn't apply to every person around the world. I'm guessing that those who live as abuse victims or in some war-torn place in the world, might not be able to find happiness where they are at in life, but it applies to me.

Thanks so much for sharing and also letting me know I'm not the only one.

As promised, here are my reflections. They are deeply personal to me. For context I've achieved a lot professionally in the past few years but a significant loss in my personal life has left me emotionally and spiritually adrift. I feel at a huge crossroads with my life and trying to recalibrate what I really want.

So about my list: The Sunday after Prince died, kind of numb, I took a drive down to my local beach and sat in my car on a perfect day looking at the beautiful ocean listening to his music and feeling a huge sense of loss... The stinging regret that can only come from losing something that you took for granted without fully appreciating it. Then the more I listened to the songs the more I felt like there had to be things in his vast body of work, in his life, that I admired and that I could resolve to do better in my own life moving forward. So I started writing and here is my list of things to do better... some inspired from the music and some from the man...

Don't be afraid of love. Love love, cherish love.

Surround yourself with good people, the best you can find. And equally, if people do not respect you, leave them.

Support causes you believe in, but not for applause or gain - seek applause only for your work.

Seek talented, like minded contemporaries to collaborate with - don't be wedded to these collaborations though, always be open to new ones.

Identify, mentor, advise, and promote new talent

Always offer to help friends and acquaintances when they need help - reach out when you know people are hurting.

Keep bad people out of your inner circle.

Invite people into your home and show them a good time.

Turn your lovers into friends and your friends into lovers.

Never give friends or lovers a reason to say a bad word about you.

If someone does something you like, or think is cool, tell them.

Look your best at all times.

Have at least some friends who love to laugh and know how to laugh

Surprise people

Be generous with money, time, and knowledge

Find a "talented boy"

Wear heels more often

Learn to dance like a bad ass

Protect your intellectual property fiercely

care less what people think of you

Work hard for what you love

Let what is meant to come through you, come through.

There are men on earth who are poets, creative, kind, generous, love women, love sex, worship women, respect women, will be proud to show you off, will want to live a full life with you - hold out for one of these men, anything less is settling.

Xo

Stay humble.
Get to know God better.
Simplify my life.
Remember the past is the past.
Live for the NOW.
Spread God's word by my actions alone... Everyone can talk the talk but people pay attention to those that actually walk the walk.
Work more on seeing the beauty in all things and people.
Center in on my passions in life.. They aren't just by accident.
Stop being afraid to be my true self- a creative and beautiful soul was put inside this shell of a body and let THAT be what people see first.
[Edited 5/15/16 7:35am]