This feels a bit like a deja vu experience to many of us as we recall the darkest days of Michael’s life not too long ago when he was publicly humiliated and tried for false accusations of child molestation. We all know that, although he was found not guilty on all counts, his life would never be the same after this horrifying experience. And although he would come back once again to share his incredible gifts as he continued to do what he was called to do on this earth, we all have a sense that it was ultimately the same dark forces that tried to bring him down in 2005 which contributed to the circumstances surrounding the end of his physical life just over 2 years ago. Our grief over his loss to this world has been tremendous and our wish that things could’ve been different for him in the final years of his life is palpable. How do we get to JOY from here?
Photo art by Debbie Michaels of Major Love Prayer
One of the things I discovered about Michael while getting acquainted with him over the last couple of years is that he not only brought Joy to millions around the world through his music and his generous spirit, but he himself experienced much Joy in his life. We tend to forget that as we are enmeshed in the tragedy of his loss and the challenges he faced. Michael overcame much of the adversity in his life with a positive attitude and a spirit of Love and Joy. He had many good years of happiness. The very thing that brought him the most Joy was being able to give from the abundance of his own good fortune and to use his fame to bring others Joy. He certainly did plenty of that!
I recently had the privilege of being able to view the entire documentary of Michael’s Home Movies. In this sharing of memorable times during his personal life, I saw a man who experienced the Love of friends and family, the Joyful innocence of play and laughter with children, and the warmth of knowing he was able to make a difference in others’ lives as he traveled the world as well as when he invited others to share in the Joy which was his home at Neverland Valley Ranch. He had 17 years of happiness and good memories at Neverland. We must remember this.
Michael never did like to dwell on the negative. He knew and understood one of the common laws of the universe - that by giving your attention to a thing, you give it power. His ability to deflect the negative and reflect Joy is evident in nearly every interview he gave. (One of my favorites is posted below in 2 parts - the 1987 Jet Magazine interview.) He always expressed gratitude for the gifts he was given and the blessings in his life. And, above all, he was stronger than the dark forces which surrounded him. I believe he would want us to do everything we can to reflect his Joy and Love in our lives and to emulate his strength as we face many of the same challenges he faced throughout his life.
When we remember his Joy and his magic, we honor him.
Did you happen to see Michael perched on that crescent moon last week? It was truly magical!
I wonder if he knew at the end of his journey that this new adventure would begin with us? Lonely no more - for sure!
ReplyDeleteChar, yes it is going to be a challenge to keep the JOY in our hearts as we grow closer to the trial. But you hit the nail on the head: we must remember the joy and the magic!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this wonderful, thought-provoking devotion.
Char, thank you once again. Your Love Devotion today has brought up much emotion for me. My eyes brim with tears to reflect once again on his heartache and pain, but warmth overcomes me as I close my tearful eyes and feel the presence of his spirit while listening to his gentle voice talk of his love and gratitude for the many gifts he was blessed with. And my heart fills with joy to have been alive to witness his wild, magical earthly ride, and to now be among the chosen ones blessed to soar upon the bliss of his heavenly spirit. Char, your words help to make this ride more heavenly still.
ReplyDeleteChar, I often wonder this as well... how it is to look back in a life review at a life like his (or how "long" that would take, if time existed there. Imagine experiencing all he gave to us and others from OUR perspective and the ripples created by each moment. It's overwhelming to consider).
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of JOY, it was just perfect to read this today because just yesterday I listened again to part of the interview Reflections on the Dance did with artist David Nordahl, who was Michael's friend and spent a good deal of time with him. David said (sorry, I can't find where in the audio the quote is) that Michael had a lot of happiness as well, a lot of good times, laughter, smiles, that he was so often happy as well, just bounding with a childlike joy. I know there was a tremendous amount of pain in his life, but perhaps we all focus on that, dare I say, 'too much' sometimes ... at the expense of the rest and everything melts away into sadness. Sadness builds upon itself until there is nothing but sadness. We need to remember the joy as well. And LOVE, for in the end it always trumps the negative. In the end, LOVE WINS (although sometimes, in our darkest hours, that's a hard thing to believe). In those first awful weeks in 2009, when hearing one note of one of his songs was like a thousand knives right through the heart, I realized something important ... I cannot let pain eclipse the joy for the rest of my time. We do Michael a disservice if we allow all our emotion, all our memories, all our feeling of him be immersed in pure pain and pain alone, when so much of who Michael was and forever will be is LOVE and JOY. Michael has always been LOVE, LIGHT and JOY to me. He always will be (and I think he'd love that). And I owe him that, to never forget these things, even while I acknowledge all the pain of betrayal and dreams left unrealized, for in the end, that's what we'll have ... as you said, what we focus on. And someday I plan to be there in that LOVE and JOY... with Michael and all of you. So here's to the smiles and the laughter and the water fights and the moments of bliss. For they are Michael's life as well. ♥ ~ BGG
This is marvellous. I particularly love your comments about the 'powerful life force that was Michael Jackson' and the uplifting positive statements about his positive attitude to overcome 'adversity and the dark forces' and the spirit of joy and 17 good years of happiness at Neverland'; 'a walk on the wild side' as he once referred to. By giving him our attention we are giving him power to be stronger than those dark forces in the weeks and months ahead. Nina Hamilton. UK.
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