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Prince died today and one of the comments I heard over and
over as I walked on the streets of New York City was “he wasn’t
supposed to die.”
The death of the 57-year-old musical genius stunned just
about everyone. He did a concert last week in Atlanta. A
friend of mine went and called; said he was “the bomb.” My
friend was exhilarated, excited, inspired and filled. She
said she was ready to face the world.
She called me this evening. “How did this happen?” she
asked. “I mean, not how, but why …I mean…what happened?”
I of course had no answers, but his death gave me pause. We
take being alive for granted. We take being alive and being
healthy …for granted. And we take it for granted that the
people we love will be around for as long as we need for
them to be. We will not venture into the reality of life
– meaning, that if one lives, one will surely die, and
nobody knows when. We act rather like little kids in many
ways, who cannot see past their own selves.
With our celebrities, the people who make us smile at their
humor, or weep because of their music, make us try harder
because we honor their success and their talent, we kind of
forget that they are human, and are subject to the part of
life called death. We cannot bear it, really, so we ignore
it. We absorb their gifts to us, always wanting more.
When Michael Jackson died, and Whitney Houston, we…well, I
…was sad because they were gone, yes, but also because they
would not be alive to make any more of the music I loved so
much.
And now, Prince.
The passing of Prince makes me understand how we take for
granted the lives of those to whom we are close, and our own
lives as well. It is not promised that we will see tomorrow,
or live through the day.
Maybe Prince’s death should jostle us and make us understand
that he gave a lot in his life and that we should perhaps,
even as we mourn, work on giving as much of ourselves and
our gifts as we can, while we can.
Maybe that would be the best way to honor …the artist
formerly known as… and then was again …Prince.
A candid observation
Rev. Dr. Susan K Smith is an ordained minister who is also
an author, writer, and speaker, who concentrates on the
intersectionality of race, politics and religion. Currently
working on a biography of Rev. C.T. Vivian, she is the
author of several books including "The Book of Jeremiah: The
Life and Ministry of Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.." She is the
communications consultant for the Samuel DeWitt Proctor
Conference, Inc, and is also the founder of Crazy Faith
Ministries. She is available for speaking, and can be
reached at
revsuekim@sbcglobal.net.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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