April Snow

“Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad
Sometimes I wish life was never ending,
And all good things, they say, never last” ~Prince
When it snows in April, although it’s not a rare circumstance, it is always intriguing and startling even when it’s predicted.
I’ve been struggling with the reality of the sudden unexpected death of a music icon, a legend, an instrumental genius and lyricist, Prince Rogers Nelson which occurred on Thursday, April 21, 2016.
Prince was my first love. I gained an appreciation of rock, pop, romance as well as erotic spirituality just from listening to his music and studying the words. I was enamoured by his beauty that surpassed yet encompassed gender. I was consumed by the strong instrumental conversations that commanded as much attention as his thought provoking lyrics that sparked controversy at times with sex, love, social issues as well as religion.
I grew with Prince as a soundtrack to my life, his death has affected me more deeply than I can fully explain. As Prince evolved from a sexy rock star to a mature musician, he was never apologetic; as I walk my journey in life, I grew to understand his.
With his death, I’ve watched archived interviews with the pop, rock and r&b prince in search of clues as to how could this happen. There are so many speculations around his death, and I must admit that I’ve had my own. The bottom line is that his death forced me to face the end of an era and that we all will leave this earth either in a long drawn out exit or in a blink of an eye, and there will always be a plethora of questions as to how or why it happened.
The question should not be how or why did this happen, death is inevitable. The question should be: How did you live while you walked the earth? How many lives have you positively or negatively influenced? If indeed, you are not living in your purpose, how will you begin to? Why haven’t you taken that vacation? Why haven’t you made the phone call that you’ve been putting off? Why not start taking care of your body, health and spiritual wellness today?

I understood Prince and his determination to evolve and change unapologetically because I have followed suit. While watching a  PBS interview with the icon, Prince said something profound in response to Tavis Smiley mentioning how his music has evolved with his life, this was the statement: “…you come out and play what you want to play at that particular stage in your life and, for your true core fans, they don’t ever leave disappointed.”
Prince’s reply: “But I don’t know how any of us grow if we just tread water. The idea is that we keep growing and, like we were saying before, the fan base I have now, they’re so sophisticated they almost expect me to do the unexpected, and that gives me a lot of room to challenge myself as well as them.” WOW. Isn’t this true? Don’t we owe it to ourselves and to those around us to promote growth and not stay stagnant in life in every aspect? Wouldn’t you want to be surrounded by those who are striving for improvement and change? Prince goes on to say in the interview: “You’re going to get the audience you deserve, all right? So when we were wearing more risqué outfits, we had a bunch of [risqué fans]…” I get it! I definitely had a light bulb moment! When I was young looking for a good time partying and drinking, the company I kept was in the same mindset. As I grew, matured and my interest along with understanding of life blossomed, I have noticed the change of my audience!
I look back and I see some folk still treading water, some even running marathons on a treadmill- going nowhere fast. I can’t help but take notice of those moving forward with baby steps and strides as well. Life is what we make it! Thank you Prince!

There will be battles and struggles along the way, sometimes we lose to those battles and struggles with drugs, mental illness, self doubt, body image and finances when we give up the fight. Seeking refuge is part of gaining power above those struggles with the help of medical professionals, spiritual guidance and mentoring. Take initiative to own the rights to your life (as the great Prince fought to win the rights to his music) and not be a slave to your struggles (as he was to the big wigs in the music industry). When you do this and leave your legacy behind, it will not matter how or why you’ve left this life; but how and why you lived when you physically existed here on earth.

Sometimes it snows in April, we admire the mystic beauty of the pure falling spring time snow knowing it will not last, yet questioning “how is this so?”…..just embrace the moment and let the questions go. Be balanced. Be well. Be blessed. C’st la vie.

The introduction quote is from the lyrics of “Sometimes it Snows in April” by Prince written in 1986 and was the closing song on his album Parade.
Rest In Purple Prince.