Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – "seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow",

Along with the rest of the world I am mourning the recent passing of the KING OF POP- Michael Jackson (age 50). All of the radio stations are playing his music and everyone is posting their favorite song and moment from his lifetime.

Along with most people in my generation...when I was growing up Michael was already a legend.. my first experience of Michael was on VHS. I watched the 2hr long movie featuring his videos and special concert moments over and over and over. I thought he was the coolest person alive...and he was.

Yesterday we also lost Farrah to cancer..and we also lost Ed McMahon. Before then we lost Bernie Mac. It seems like an unfortunate and ongoing trend of losing great talent so early in their lives.

But is it really a coincidence? Even though they are famous, they are people,-human and they share what we all have in common...an imminent demise. (sorry to be so morose)

But there is that nagging feeling that these artists these overwhelmingly great people are not here on this earth very long.

Are we just being selfish? Only wanting them to stay around for our very own enjoyment..possibly..who knows..but these are all questions that are swimming through my head at the moment.

There must be a study on the shortened life spans of the famous...

A quick search brought up this article:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-price-of-fame-pop-stars-are-more-likely-to-die-young-463836.html#

This article is interesting because it at least points out the factors that lead to the famous dying young. The most obvious is drugs but they also list stress and risk-taking behavior. Many of the reasons why the famous are famous is because of their ability to take risks and put themselves out there. Unfortunately, stress and risk taking have their effects on quality of life and life span.

While we all take a moment to think about the wonderful contribution that Michael Jackson has made to this world...I hope everyone takes that very next moment to figure how they can eliminate unnecessary stress and improve their quality of life. We don't know when we will pass on but we do have control over how we enjoy the time that we are here.

Use your time wisely.

Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – "seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow"