Of course not. Who could be ready? What does it mean to be ready? When Prince was found unresponsive in his elevator at Paisley Park, was he ready?

Healthy and 57 years old — that is middle age in the US. Many of us have not written a will. We may still be bugging our parents about that. Chances are we have 20 to 30 more years. Yet, you may know as many stories as I do about early death and how it devastated the survivors.

Even when we have prepared our estates as best we know how or have been advised to do, things happen that may make the plans go awry. But, it is so much worse when it wasn’t written.

What can you do this week to rectify that situation?

Further, beyond the money, what would you want to pass on to your heirs? What kind of mark do you want to make in this world? What do you need to do for others that you haven’t gotten around to? To whom do you need to say “thank-you”, or “I appreciate the role modeling you set for me” or “I love you” or “I couldn’t be where I am in life without your support”?

Maybe you wish you could have told Prince what it meant that he lived his life out there on the edge, embracing who he was that gave confidence to many others who were different. Thank you, Prince. I’d like to think you are jamming with Jimi Hendrix right this minute.

 

Photo by Paul Dye at LACMA-The Rain Room