I thought there’d be a couple of Avicii tracks in this week’s submissions and while Noka’s selection of Wake Me Up on the Music to Vibe To list was beautifully written and a must read / listen, it was the track from Matt Jenko and the Music to Save The World playlist that caught my ear.
I’ve been listening to this all morning – it is so heart wrenchingly difficult to think of the hook and what it could have meant to Tim Bergling. It’s no secret that Tim suffered from many of the trappings that seem to follow our brightest creative minds: anxiety, substance abuse and related physical ailments – it’s such a bloody shame.
There has been an outpouring of sentiment across social media and it seems that he was genuinely loved – by pretty much everybody. And that’s it isn’t it – that someone who can be so loved, so talented, who seemingly “had it all” can be so consumed by personal demons that they don’t make it. Reminds me of Chester Bennington.
But if there is any silver lining – and hey – we’re optimists here – then maybe we can follow Tim’s example in how he used social media. In how open he was to sharing his anxiety with the world – how honest he was in letting people know where he was. Sharon and I discuss this below but – when social media finally moves from being us expressing our aspirational self and becomes us expressing our true selves – then it will finally become a place where we can truly and authentically connect.
Sharon had a great insight this morning into the power of community grieving – into how when a celebrity dies we are given permission to grieve in public – and that there is something undeniably positive about that. If you were a fan of Avicii, or even if you just sang along to the irresistible “Wake Me Up” – share a thought today for his friends and family and his millions of fans who are grieving the loss of someone who brought so much joy into the world.
Thank you Tim.
It’s not OK that we kill ourselves. It’s not Ok that we don’t understand mental health – it’s not OK that there is such a stigma attached to it – https://www.nami.org/mentalhealthmonth – we’ll continue to do our bit to help raise awareness and will be working with Irish artist Robb Murphy next month to do just that. In the meantime if you or anyone you know is dealing with thoughts of suicide there are amazing organizations that can help you:
Here’s the number and link to The Samaritans UK
From any phone just dial – 116 123
https://www.samaritans.org/
Here’s the link to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1-800 273 8255
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Sharon from Grief Reiki and Andrew talk about the recent passing of Avicii and the wider aspect of Celebrity grief. Sharon has brilliant insights into associations with grief memories but more significantly the power of community grieving which changed Andrew’s perspective. We then went off on a tangent on social media and how once we get over trying to impress each other and start becoming more authentic how it could become an incredible solace and resource for grievers.