Wednesday, September 16, 2009

National Treasure


Yesterday finished up watching the interviews with Whitney Houston by Oprah. The interviews were honest, at times uncomfortable, uplifting, tear jerking, and....I've ran out of words. In my book, completely worth watching.
Oprah several times said that Whitney's voice was/is a "National Treasure." As if it didn't belong only to her. And maybe it didn't. Doesn't. When someone is gifted in that manner, then does a burden or obligation exist to share it with the world? I think it does because that person will never be completely whole if that "creating factor" within them is not producing. And we will never be whole when that magic creative energy is missing from life. Creativity can be a heavy burden, witnessed by the death of so many talented musicians and artists.
Maybe its wishful thinking, I hope not, but I feel an energy, a realization that no part of a person should ever be diminished to make another look larger, a growth, an explosion, a "Big Bang" has happened and a new universe is created for Whitney Houston.
When Whitney quit the music scene, she quit. She explains those years in her interviews. For anyone who has ever been in an abusive relationship or lost in a fog of drugs and for those who haven't, but have wanted to give up, or anyone who has ever liked her music, she is an inspiration and a true Phoenix arising, a gift returned to us. The interviews left me down, but ultimately up. And really happy that she is "back!"
I was never a huge fan of Whitney - she was (is) tremendously talented and I did (and do) think she had one of the most powerful voices I ever heard. Now - well, now, she has a depth added to that beautiful voice that makes her, in my book, a number one "soul sister." Her new CD I think might be part of a spiritual cleansing for her, and a putting away and putting in order of the last seven or eight years of hell and we're going to see a star - and I mean a bright, celestial powerhouse of light back in our musical scene.
Today H" gave me the CD she recently made - and despite a beat I found distracting, reminiscent of a disco beat - please, someone tell me I'm wrong, her singing, the lyrics, her delivery, the power of HER - makes this CD something I will listen to fairly often. And, most of all - Welcome Back to a beautiful strong woman, full of love and magic and beauty!

5 comments:

mister anchovy said...

When someone is gifted in that manner, then does a burden or obligation exist to share it with the world? I think it does because that person will never be completely whole if that "creating factor" within them is not producing.

I disagree. I don't think any individual has any such obligation, nor any obligation to meet anyone's idea of what makes them whole.

Candy Minx said...

I have been writing a post about this Oprah interview myself Gardenia. I'll probably post it this weekend some time. I was completely fascinated by the interview and by Houston.

Your question is a very big question.

I don't feel any one is obligated to do anything. We can't legislate the imagination...we can barely legislate parents performing their duties to care give their kids.

I feel though that your question extends into something larger...about the idea of "being whole" in general.

The only way to feel whole is within our own selves and only we can ask and answer that question within our selves.

I believe all people have some things in common...

We all want the best for ourselves and our friends and family. I don't believe any of us can be "at peace" or "feel whole" until our community feels whole...or at the very least that we feel all of us are able to attempt to self analyse or have self-realization. (for lack of a better term)

Even people who have reached a lifestyle where they can practice their passions, from accounting to reading to making things out of nothing and become wealthy...want to see others be able to live with similar choices. Look at how many wealthy famous people try to do charity.

I believe that act of charity is an attempt to reconcile the desire they have for artistic feedom with the poverty of ideas, lifestyle or political freedom they see around us.

I guess I am not sure if the ideals we have of "being whole" of being fully functional capable people is ever static. I wonder if it's not something we get gut feelings or moments of clarity regarding?

I believe any such obligation is personal...and not because someone has a gift or not. Any obligation is due to our own personal idea of what it is to live and how we live. I would like to see people even without some kind of "talent" or "gift" have the ability to find time to practice. More than anything...the secret to self-realization and performance is the freedom to act. And so few people have that confidence or actual feeling of freedom. It's not something we can force. Only help each other aim to achieve.

I love it that you also wanted to post about this interview...because as I said...I've got a post about it too. It's really struck a chord in me about a lot f things and it was a fascinating interview. I shall put my post up sometime tomorrow I think.

Gardenia said...

I did not mean this "obligation" - call it that, or passion, or art, or music, or writing, or cooking, or growing things, or even being alive, or what ever is beautiful in us (humanity) that cries to come out, to connect through a conduit is placed within us specifically to meet anyone's idea of wholeness, only we can decide what makes US whole, and I believe Whitney found that, at least what I got from Whitney's interview, (yes, subjectively) was that when she put down that part of her, that creativity, she began to diminish, which in my book of thought, is a loss of wholeness.

She related what seemed to me a long struggle through to find her freedom, her obligation to herself (and as part of something bigger than herself) and the freedom outside of what someone else defined for her to let that passion to create what she considered her "gift" to go to where it will go.

My post supposes that humans are not an accidental happening upon this planet, separate from this planet or even this universe in which we exist and that humans are on this earth in every instance for a specific purpose. Maybe Oprah's statement that Whitney's voice was a national treasure perhaps came from a similar philosophy of life. But that is only an assumption I picked up from watching Oprah interviews, again subjective.

Then, too, I think, on the extreme end, we can develop a sense of ownership, of vicarious living through our celebrities by placing on them the burden of fulfilling our desires to create because we do not pursue or find it in ourselves. We place upon them the expectation to fill our lives with the beauty of creation, ... whether in sports, film, music - maybe we use these celebrities to make ourselves feel whole - - - that's one to think on.

I don't necessarily think that need in our lives to have something of someone else is a bad thing - or we wouldn't give a hoot about art, music, books, ideas, the art of perfect physical management of the body in sports - and the art of competition, or a good meal, or anything that comes from anyone else is a bad thing. It is part of our humanity - the flow of giving, the flow of receiving - all of which, hopefully we are all on one end or the other at different times.

What if the flow of art, music, books, etc.....were to stop - - totally, completely? What if we refused all of that - the giving, the receiving of it?

mister anchovey and candy minx - and stagg - I have seen through the years the creativity that pours from all of you - the prolific, amazing beauty in the art, the music, the food, the landscapings - the ideas - the movement of your lives - so, tell me - what fountain does this spring from and how do you feel that a piece of that might be picked up, processed through a fellow human being's brain, and held there as a treasure?

This probably is in bad need of editing but hopefuly the essence is coming through clearly....

Ok Candy - I am off to read your thoughts - yes, I too have been completely fascinated - I have been listening to her CD now for two days - going through other interviews that Oprah has done as well.

Heidi Grether said...

Uh, I am back. Prolly shouldn't say anything bc I have not been faithfully out here for so long.

To me, it is very simple. She has a God given gift. In sharing it, her joy will be made complete because that is partly why she was created.

He feeds and strengthens me as I give of the gift He gave me in doing hair. He provides for me, nourishes me, encourage me and brings me dignity as I operate in the gift.

When we reverence the Creator, we know what to do with the gift He placed in us.

It was a beautiful and powerful interview. Whitney has returned to her faith roots and she reminded Ophrah that her own roots are not in the pscho babble of Ekhart Tolle, but in the Word of God, who is Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, who shows us the strength of our own power and in the Father who loves us so. And the tears in Ophrah's eyes prove that within her lies a deposit of the Holy Spirit.

Gardenia said...

It was good seeing that Oprah's roots were showing, LOL!