Celebrities undoubtedly dominate today’s culture. Celebrated as they are, celebrities are also people, and like all people, they eventually pass away. When stars pass away, people around the world mourn their loss. Famous artists and musicians spend their entire lives trying to make people happy with their work, and with their passing it’s important to keep their wishes in mind.

When John Lennon died, Yoko Ono asked that no funeral be held. Instead, almost a quarter of a million people gathered in a park near his apartment and prayed silently for ten minutes, during which all radio stations in New York City went off the air. When David Bowie died, fans made shrines and memorials at his New York apartment and his birthplace in London. When Prince recently died, the world turned purple for him. Murals were graffitied on Minneapolis walls and the IDS Tower was lit up purple the night after his passing. There were crowds of people dancing from Friday night until 6:00 AM the next morning at First Avenue in his memory. Needless to say, everyone knew that Minnesota had lost someone special.

A celebrity passing away, especially a hometown hero like Prince, is a big deal. It’s normal to be upset when someone notable dies, especially when it’s unexpected. That’s just part of being a human being. But there’s no need to get overly wrapped up in mourning for them. While it’s okay to be sad when someone famous passes away, it’s important to keep things in perspective. Celebrities, despite how visible they are in today’s society, are still strangers to most of us. While they may have had a major impact on an individual’s life or on society as a whole, the fact is that they are not our friends. It’s sad to lose another influential artist and innovator, but the world will keep spinning and the only course of action is to move on. There’s nothing anyone can do to change what’s already happened, and we still have their work to inspire those of us still here.

It’s also important to consider what’s really being mourned and grieved over. Most of us never got a chance to meet Prince or see him perform live, and it’s likely that some people hadn’t heard much of his work until after they found out he’d died. So is it really Prince as a person being mourned, or is society mourning losing him as an artist? After his death, there will be no more new work recorded (although enough unreleased material exists for over 100 albums) and no more shows will ever be performed. A lot of people, especially from our parents’ generation, grew up listening to and enjoying Prince’s work. For them, losing Prince is losing a childhood hero, and a reminder that someday, even the best of us have to go. It’s important to consider  what we’re really grieving over when we remember that the Artist Formerly Living as Prince has died.

At the end of the day, everyone has to go at some point, and it’s okay to be sad about it. It’s also okay to put on some old favorite songs, remember all the good times with a recently deceased artist’s work, and to smile and appreciate his art. Prince was an entertainer who did things on his own terms so that he could feel good about himself as an artist, and so that he could share his talent and music with his fans. He tried to make people happy, and with his passing it’s important to keep his wishes in mind.