I was just reading the wiki article for the NPG. It listed Prince as a former member - deceased. Certainly was a sobering moment.

No. It's been more than a month and I have pretty much accepted that he is dead. The date is just very familiar.

It's starting to sink in more for me, but I know what you mean. It still seems unreal. I guess we will accept it more in the coming months and years.

FunkiestOne said:

DiscoBallz said:

No, about the only thing that someone can hold on to is fact. Facts and humor. We've had a LOT of speculation and very little known fact.

So, humor it is.

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v339/suomynona/Yikes.jpg[/img:$uid]

No, I'm not in disbelief. It's happened, and it's one of the three worst days in my life. But it's real. I don't constantly play the mental tape of "I can't believe it". Yes - yes you can believe it. You may not want to believe it, but it's as real as sunshine and oxygen. Not accepting the truth is a to purposely buy into an illusion. Not accepting that he's gone won't bring him back to life. The genius and human being that was Prince is not going to rise from the ashes.

In fact, holding into the illusion dishonors his journey from this life to whatever is on the other side. We have the music, we have the memories. That's all any of us will leave behind - memories. Enjoy those, but accepting the truth will truly set you free. Free from the pain, free from whatever misery one resides in. The whos, whats, hows, while interesting, are ultimately irrelevant. None of it will invalidate his death certificate.

But do I hate seeing "Died: April 21, 2016" plastered everywhere? Of course I hate it. I also hate beets. I can avoid beets. I, nor any of us unfortunately, can avoid the truth that our dear Prince is gone forever.

I know all that sounds harsh, but as we've learned life is too short for misery or regrets. To paraphrase Prince's own words: Now I got to letitgo, and I can let my vibe just flow, I wanna just letitgo, so I can let my feelings show.

.

[Edited 5/30/16 8:39am]

rainbowchild said:

I still have this pang of sadness that hits me whenever I see that and makes me well up in tears. I try to forget it when I go the movies, watch TV or play video games, but then when I go to the Internet and search Prince and reads that, it hits me again.

Yep, same here. It also hits me when I'm listening to one of his songs and I start to wonder what it's gonna sound like when he plays it live. Then I realize we'll never see him play live again.

I also get excited for half-a-second when I see some mainstream news outlet with a headline about Prince, I automatically think, "Oh look someone is taking note of Prince," or "He's making news again!" Then I realize, they're probably reporting on his death, or doing the tribute they never would have while he was living, or they think its news when somebody plays "Purple Rain" or "Nothing Compares 2 U" in concert with purple spotlights. I was hoping for news about a new album or tour, then I realize we'll never get that news again.

OK, now I'm sad, gonna go listen to some music.

Chas

NorthC said:

^I know what you mean, I'm not in disbelief either, but still, every time you see that, 1958-2016, there's a part of your mind that says, "this can't be true..."

I think that sometimes we just forget. It's new. My mother died in 2012, and I still go to reach for the phone to call her sometimes. The difference is that my mother's passing isn't plastered on every magazine cover at the supermarket. So the reminders are what's tough. Our brains forget the reality, and we settle into a temporary status quo of April 20, then we're reminded.

DiscoBallz said:

Still in disbelief. I find myself daydreaming at times and thinking "this can't be true".

TrivialPursuit said:

Empress said:

I choke up whenever I read was. I just can't... whenever I see the dates it takes a minute,like I'm not reading the text correctly.

... "It's happened... But it's real. Yes - yes you can believe it. You may not want to believe it, but it's as real as sunshine and oxygen. Not accepting the truth is a to purposely buy into an illusion. Not accepting that he's gone won't bring him back to life. The genius and human being that was Prince is not going to rise from the ashes.

In fact, holding into the illusion dishonors his journey from this life to whatever is on the other side. We have the music, we have the memories. That's all any of us will leave behind - memories. Enjoy those, but accepting the truth will truly set you free. Free from the pain, free from whatever misery one resides in. The whos, whats, hows, while interesting, are ultimately irrelevant. None of it will invalidate his death certificate.

But do I hate seeing "Died: April 21, 2016" plastered everywhere? Of course I hate it. I also hate beets. I can avoid beets. I, nor any of us unfortunately, can avoid the truth that our dear Prince is gone forever.

I know all that sounds harsh, but as we've learned life is too short for misery or regrets. To paraphrase Prince's own words: Now I got to let it go, and I can let my vibe just flow, I wanna just letitgo, so I can let my feelings show."

.

[Edited 5/30/16 8:39am]

This is the first week I've started to feel more normal, I guess my mind has adjusted to some degree. I can now look at pictures of him without a stream of tears, no longer wake up with that "was it a bad dream, oh no! it wasn't" knot in my stomach feeling, my appetite had even diminished and that has come back, I'm feeing more a part of normal life again. This has all started to happen in the last several days. I suppose for a long time there will be that "I can't believe he's gone" thought but at least it's not so piercing at this moment.

CalhounSq said:

I hate seeing the death date... I hate seeing "we all mourn his loss" on the front page of the Org... I just hate it all

It's insane. i am hoping this is a cruel joke and the 21st never happened especially since a few of us in Minneapolis saw him on that Saturday prior to the death. He looked thin but he was always thin.

[Edited 5/30/16 14:44pm]

I never thought that I would see that, and it's still seems unreal when I do see it.

rainbowchild said:

Empress said:

Still in disbelief. I find myself daydreaming at times and thinking "this can't be true".

I still wake up everyday thinking it was just a bad dream and it can't be true. I sometimes burst into tears and my dogs would come to me since they seem very intuitive trying to comfort me and I'd give them a hug then. I try to hide my depressed feeling from my family because I know they wouldn't understand.

It still gets to me. The terms was and died is a reminder of reality.