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MY LESSON FROM PRINCE and SIX DEGREES OF SEPERATION
Paisley Park, Prince's home and studio, is just down the road from our office. I often drove past the complex and wondered who might be there or what he might be composing or working on that day.
My experience with Prince is kind of like a "six degrees of separation" occurrence. (If you are not familiar with that phrase, check it's definition out on Wikipedia or Google)
As he lived within my community, he became a part of our community as well. He sometimes ate at a restaurant which I like to attend; he would sit at an enclosed booth (which has a curtain to pull around) in a corner.
There is a dinner theater nearby which Prince has also been known to go as well; during a performance or play - I and my guests sometimes would look up to the private viewing area in the balcony and wonder "if Prince was here tonight."
Also, our village has many bike paths for residences to enjoy. Many times individuals would note that they had seen Prince biking on the trails. Once, when biking with my manager, I thought I saw him as well. "You know who just went by us? That was Prince!" I said to her. "Right," she said back with some suspicion.
Prince was known to spontaneously show up at various clubs around town to entertain with a free performance.
My final "six degrees of separation" with Prince happens to be that two of his chosen cooks - they frequently toured with him and prepared food for him at Paisley Park - attended some of our family events.
So, through his music and his presence in my municipality, Prince has been a part of my conversation.
But my Lesson from Prince comes via an interview from the Larry King show in 1999. Here is a brief transcript of one question from Larry King to Prince:
KING: "How would you describe your music? What idiom would you put it in?"
THE ARTIST: "The only thing I could think of, because I really don't like categories, but the only thing I could think of is inspirational. And I think music that is from the heart falls right into that category, people who really feel what it is that they're doing. And ultimately all music is or can be inspirational. And it's -- that's why it's so important to let your gift be guided by something more clear, you know?"
When I listened to the recent replay of that interview, Prince's answer struck me as profoundly unique. Instead of picking a genre for his music, he tried to define the center of music all together - music is inspiration.
As a speaker, I have an interest in the meaning of words, and I know the word "inspiration" comes from the Greek and can literally be translated as "God-breathed."
Isn't that a great thought? The artist is inspired to write the music; the listener feels inspired by listening to it, and together the community dances to the music (or, maybe just tap your feet too).
Perhaps, it could be said that the purpose of music is to receive and share inspiration - or the breath of God, as it were. And that is my Lesson from Prince this week - to seek a bit of inspiration today and then to pass it along to another. Maybe that is the breath of God.
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