Grief-less: Death of an ICON

All the buzz this week has been about the death of music icon Whitney Houston.  As with most deaths, I was unaffected causing me to wonder about my own humanity. While it's true that we lost a major voice in the music industry, I continue to ask myself, why is it that I have such a hard time expressing grief.

I grew up on Whitney Houston, listened to many many of her songs and loved her music videos, but I didn't know her.  I only knew what the tabloids said about her. They talked about the way she dressed, they talked about her weight, they talked about her relationship choices, they talked about everything.

As I continue on my path to becoming a best selling author, I often times ask myself would I even be ready for the level of success where everything is scrutinized.  I know they are still searching for the hows and whats surrounding her departure from us, but let's take a moment to ask ourselves if we as a nation fed into her demise.

When there was a new article about her and her relationship with Bobby Brown, who's side were you on?  When allegations of her drug use reached the surface, were you quick to believe that she was doing crack or did you try to reach out to her to offer assistance.

Celebrities have challenging lives, they have to live up to so much and one has to wonder, is it even worth it?  Also, ask yourself this, when the reports do come out as the cause of death, what will you do?  Tweet about it? Talk about how sad it is? Or will you take a look at your own demons and do something about them before it's too late?

Today, I shed a tear for the dearly departed Whitney Houston, may she rest in peace.