The wonderful New Orleans Jazz Fest ended last Sunday, and this has been a week for catching up on sleep, regrouping and pondering next steps.

Jazz Fest began the day after Prince died so tragically and unexpectedly. There were many beautiful tributes to him, including renditions of “Purple Rain” that moved me to tears – I’m looking at you, Preston Shannon and Big Freedia.

In the aftermath of Prince’s untimely passing, I’ve been doing like I did after Bowie died – watching and reading videos, articles and interviews. The most moving two have been this  – an article by the creator of “New Girl”, about an episode in which Prince guest-starred, and this – an article by a photographer who was hired to cover Prince’s 2011 European tour.

Here’s what strikes me – Prince’s wholeheartedness. No question, he was a remarkable phenomenon, a once-in-our-lifetimes brilliant and shining star, whose genius extended beyond even the wildest dreams of most of us.

But he was also deeply committed to believing in and acting on his vision – he was profoundly and purely dedicated to his work.

It’s prompted me to look at my own commitment, my own wholeheartedness.

What I see is that often I am neither wholly in nor wholly out of my work, my life. I make excuses, use displacement activities, distractions, rationales of all colors, shapes and sizes, to avoid being present and engaged.

You may recognize this too. We fail to be fully here, right now, and give our all, because we fear the disappointment of failure (if I don’t do it properly I can always tell myself that if I had, I would have succeeded).

Or because if we do what’s in front of us wholly and completely, we may find ourselves stuck doing it, and we don’t want to settle. (Forgetting that at any point we can change direction.)

Or we fear the criticism or judgment of others, though we know in our hearts that it’s our own feeling of satisfaction and achievement that actually counts.

Maybe it all just feels too big, too overwhelming…

So, despite having clear dreams and intentions, we allow ourselves to waft through life, not quite present, not quite engaged.

I’ve found that wholeheartedness can be found, unsurprisingly, by looking into our own hearts; in the moments between moments, in the place beyond thought and beyond expectation.

Silence; some form of meditation; quiet reflection; finding space for connecting with our heart’s true desires and goals; it’s in these that the courage, commitment and connection can be found which enable us to achieve our dearest and most heartfelt desires.

So Prince is gone, but he leaves behind a beautiful legacy of tenacity and dedication to his vision, and I intend, as best I can, to emulate that wholeheartedness in my life, one tiny moment at a time.