I am not sure why, but Whitney Houston's death has touched me in ways I never would have expected. She released her first album when I was just beginning to develop my own musical tastes, so I feel like I grew up with her in some ways.
Her voice was indescribable of course, but now that I look back, her life had a sort of indescribable quality to it as well. As we prepare for her home going service and a final good-bye, I am not one to dwell on either the positive or the negative, but I will focus on what I can learn from both. Here are 5 things Whitney Houston taught me about life.
- Be my own best friend. Other people will love and care for me, but at the end of the day, I have to care for myself more than they do. It seems to me there are times in a life when it's not detrimental to care for others more than I care for myself. But when it becomes a habit, it is downright dangerous.
- I am the boss of me. With rare exception and barring physically threatening situations, no one can force me to do anything. While some of my choices are influenced, for better or worse, by others and by things others do to me, I'm still the one calling the shots.
- The boss is not always right, but the boss is the boss. Some things are just not worth fighting for. Investing 90% effort to combat a 10% problem that someone else controls is not a good investment. When someone else is the boss of a situation that is not good for me, I need to get out of the situation.
- Never give up. When something is worth fighting for, and it's a fight I can win, then never stop fighting. Fight and fight and fight. Never give up on an important fight, if it's a fight I can win.
- Die trying. When I commit to the fight of my life, never giving up means exactly that. We all must die, so why not die fighting for something important, especially when the victory will be so sweet if I win.
From the outside looking in, it appears that Whitney Houston did in fact die trying. Trying to better her life, trying to resist the pull of certain dark forces.
She had an uphill climb and she almost made it. It would have been such a sweet victory.
Question: Have you learned anything?
