Whitney Houston

We were on our way to church this morning when my sister texted me from the US.  “Whitney Houston died.  Tragic end.”

Just like that, All at Once.  An enormous legacy reduced to an epitaph.

I can still remember listening to her album for the first time.  You know, way back in the day of cassettes.  I had a very prized Walkman.  I can still see the cover all spread out in front of me while I read through the minuscule lyrics.  From her first note, I was mesmerized.   The timbre of her tone, the movement of her voice, the emotive quality that seemed to float out of her throat!  No one else has that seemingly liquid vibrato!  It was no wonder she was called, “The Voice.”  She would become, and will remain, my favorite singer (even though I may not have liked all her songs).    No one can compete with the quality, the pure, smooth texture of her voice.   To hear her hum was music in itself.  It was effortless, and when she put energy into the song you knew those highs would not disappoint.  Whitney claimed to be a Christian and I don’t doubt the fact that she knew Jesus Christ, BUT she failed to implement His teaching in her life…she failed to let Him lead.  And it cost her.  Her bad choice in Bobby Brown, her fame, the acclaim and the obvious lack of an anchor in her life, made one of the most famous women in the world to be one of the loneliest.  No different from an addict on the street.  Whitney, whose voice was unparalleled, could not find grace in her role as wife and mother.  She definitely loved her daughter and did much to improve the lives of children but her unmet needs would take her down.

When I think of Whitney, I feel sad.  Sad that my favorite voice lived a ‘successful’ but depressingly unhappy life.  Truly, what a tragic end.

The first time I heard her No. 1 Hit, The Greatest Love Of All, I loved how she sang it, but I knew something was wrong with the lyrics.  “Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.”  I strongly disagreed.  I still do.  I think there is too much love for self.  It comes naturally to love that way, to be selfish, to such an extent that one can forget the other lives that are bound and think only of fulfilling a present need.

This life is so fragile and so fleeting.  Whitney had an amazing opportunity opened to her, too bad she lacked the strength to overcome the vices that clung to her.   To think of Whitney Elizabeth Houston, is to know that one of the greatest voices made its sure mark.  The world is left with the bitter-sweet memories of a life blessed; but too spent, too short and too sad.  A beautiful song, well sung but left undone.   I think Whitney would want her her family, her friends and fans to not live as she lived.  What would she say if she had one more chance to say it?  I wonder…but I know that she would not want her regrets to belong to another. I truly hope her daughter will transcend above all the tragedy that is around her and make her life count.  Where DO Broken Hearts Go after their One Moment in Time?

P.S  Just for the record, although a deep appreciator of Whitney’s voice, I in no way am a promoter of her music.  After her fast rise to fame, she lost much of her innocent appeal.   Most of her videos and music promoted a sensual, flamboyant and crude lifestyle.  All of which did not suit my taste.  But I still think she had one of the greatest voices in history.