For the last five or so years, I access social media about once per month. And when I do, I’m very low-key—mostly liking the posts of friends in my feed. And then D’Angelo died. He was one of the primary inspirations for a character in my first published novel: Destiny’s Song. His music was the backf=drop of so many creative projects that I've worked on.
When I heard that he had passed, I immediately went to facebook and my post was me singing the chorus to: Untitled-How Does It Feel. Me, the card-carrying introvert, did that.
For two days after he died, I was profoundly sad. I can’t explain it. Then, I did what I typically do when I experience strong emotions . . . I started writing. I grabbed a brand new journal. What came out was song lyrics. Song titles. What was in my head was music. The stories of my sadness came pouring out of me. I filled pages and pages and pages.
Sometimes, I could not keep up with all of the words my hand was writing. (I found out later that this sudden burst of creativity is a relatively normal reaction for someone experiencing a strong emotion. It even has names like: Post Traumatic Growth, Sublimation, and Grief-Activated Creativity.) I don't sing well, read music or play an instrument. So, I used an AI music app as a tool to creating the songs in my soul.
