Exiting Early

It's the terror of knowing
what the world is about,
watching some good friends
screaming, "Let me out"! (Under Pressure, David Bowie and Queen)

Whitney Houston was 48 when she "accidentally" drowned in the bathtub; Michael Jackson was 50 when a fatal combination of prescription drugs killed him. Price was 57 and George Michael was 53 when they died, allegedly both worn down by drug usage.

I know how it feels to turn 50. It is the age when the home-coming journey starts; the time to let go of the stuff that excited us so much when we were young. These four giants of entertainment probably experienced in a couple of decades what we ordinary mortals experience over a couple of lifetimes; so it is understandable if they are ready to move on ahead of their biological clocks.

We spiritual traveler have an incredible privilege over others, we keep on growing and developing especially when the home-coming journey gets underway. Our lost friends had a very different gig. They used their talents to let millions of fans project their energy into them, while they recycled it and amplified it right back to them. It must be hard to be perceived "over the hill' when you are in show business. The same wave that propelled them towards incredible heights crashes now into a harbor wall. Perhaps they had already expanded all their energy by the time when the inward reflection cycle got going. Who can fault them if they simply wanted out.

All of us have a soul contract, a journey that we sign up for even before we are born. A journey is "successful" from a spiritual perspective when we accomplish the service we have promised - in the case of these four giants it would have been giving energy and meaning to millions - while exiting with a "been there, done that; never again!" feeling. I bet you all four of them were done with that superstar hunger forever.

Around the time when I wrote this note, Carrie Fisher died, another celebrity who was likely taken from us prematurely because of her history of drug abuse. She was the daughter of Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds and you may remember Carrie from her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars sequel. She grew up watching her mother's fame fading and she succinctly summarized the problem of stardom as "celebrity is obscurity biding its time!" Wow, what an insight! No child of GOD deserves a feeling of being over the hill. So when you have a soul contract to be famous, do what you are born to do, but if you have a choice in it, move out of the lime-light as quickly as you can. It will only burn you.