RIP Thomas Kinkade

 
 Thomas Kinkade's last painting........


If you haven't heard the news by now, revered painter Thomas Kinkade has passed away. His inspirational paintings have stirred many hearts and he will, I am certain, be deeply missed. One detail I did note when I saw his obituary on MSN was the headline, "Relapsed into Alcoholism." Yet the article continued of how the man, nicknamed the "Painter of Light," died in his sleep of natural causes." So why was it even imperative to note that he battled alcoholism? Does that fact make him seem any less to the audience who loved his paintings? Sure, the article went on to note the many issues that seemed to dog him over the last few years, but why couldn't it have shed a positive spin on his life?

Why does the media thrive on pessimism...and why does the public lap it up?

This sums up what I have been maintaining all along. We should NOT be defined by titles, but rather by the works we have done, the good we have performed and the lives we have touched for the better. Why point that finger of JUDGMENT over a life whose sole purpose was to make another's life a bit more happy? So he was an alcoholic....how did that make him any different from you and I? How did it diminish his life? I tell you this--it did NOT! If anything, it has made him more human. He had his problems, just as we all do. The fact that as he was sucked under them, he hid in the way so many others have--in the bottom of  a bottle, just means that the elevated status that is given all "celebrities" can be so unfair. These people are set up for a fall, and when it happens, boy...we are so quick to lay blame. We do it to complete strangers, we do it to family and friends and don't you dare deny it! Deep inside, you know you too, thrive on seeing another take a hit. "Serves them right!" you think!

Hmm... Why does anyone deserve a hell like that? Do you? Well then, they don't either.

Today, start a new way of thinking. Do it by contemplating Thomas's works. It's easy, just go to Google images and type his name in the search bar. You will be treated to some very fine work. See what he was trying to say with the strokes of his brush. Then, find someone with whom you have judged and seek forgiveness. I know its hard, but with practice, it gets easier. In time, you will no longer have this need to watch another fail. Because like Thomas, you will love the intricacies of life too much to want that for anyone.