What Success Really Costs

Once again we are hearing about the tragic death of another superstar.  How sad and how tragic.  It just seems that the great talent which produces this kind of success, comes at a fierce price. 

I don't even begin to know why this is true.  Perhaps it is caused by the constant pressure of everyone always watching and waiting for you to fail.  Perhaps it is the pressure of never being able to be alone.  Perhaps it is that the success is not enough in and by itself. So many times their personal lives are tragically unhappy, as was Whitney's.

The loss of the beautiful voice of Whitney Houston is definitely a tragedy.  The greater tragedy however, is that this kind of sadness/success which leads to the drug use, abuse and death of so many stars did not begin with Whitney Houston and will not end with her death.  We need to re-focus somehow.  We need to allow stars to have lives which don't include constant cameras in their faces and lousy rags like STAR magazine print whatever lies they want without consequence.

Let's all try a little harder to enjoy these extraordinary talents without robbing them of any semblance of a normal life or privacy.  We need to remember that in spite of their gifts, these are still human beings with the same needs for respect, privacy and love we all have.