Daily Lessons from Life 12 February 2012 - Whitney Houston dies at 48!

"Whitney Houston dies - The Korea Herald/Asia News Network Feb 12, 2012

Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard'' and "Waiting to Exhale.''

She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy,'' Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone."

Celebrities are just normal human being, they come and go. However, every once in a while, the death of these celebrities does trigger some reflection on who they are, where did they come from and how did arrive at their celebreties status.

Lessons for me are:

1. the purpose of life decides if one lives a longer and more fulfilling life or not. For a successful superstar with so much going for her and she can literally has any man she wants she picked the 'bad boy' as her hubby. It was not pretty with alleged physical abuses and drinking and drug problems that developed probably as a coping or escaping the 'reality'. Love is blind and in this case her marriage is an Institute of the Blinds for her. She never did recover from this episode it seems;

2. when talented people with so much promises die young. Yes 48 is young. Even 50, the age when Michael Jackson died due to medical neglect by his personal physician, is young. It leaves with with lots of "what if's" and 'what could have been'! What if she is well and serving the charities that benefits millions? what if she grows into the evergreen presence and serenity of her aunt, Ms Dionne Warwick, or her God-Mum Aretha Franklin? etc. Well, we will never know now!;

3. life is short. At least for her she did have her moments. As I was listening to the BBC on the way back this morning, goose pimples popped on me when her songs were sang in the news tribute. Strange as it may be. I was truly sad that she has passed on. And in such a tragically young age.

May she rest in peace. May more talented artistes after her can think about the great things she had done/achieved, and after the lessons learned from her life experiences what to do right. Forget about the 'don't do' list!!