TOUCH

“She used to always rub my face and I never used to understand why.  She used to say I had beautiful hands and I used to say, ‘Why, don’t all hands look alike?’  But now I see what she means because now I do it to my kids.  I rub their facescreate two like that because they are so sweet.  I never understood why she did it to me.  Then, you grow up and you realize that it’s an endearing thing to say, ‘I LOVE YOU’.”

Michael Jackson (Memories of Rose Fine)

~The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be~

Dalai Lama michael's hugs

“We wanted to do a film (GHOSTS) that’s very scary, but it should be a roller coaster ride with peaks and valleys, all kind of emotions.  You know, there’s some pathos, I insisted on it.  I hope you enjoy it.  I hope it’s inspiring to a lot of people, and I hope it scares you.  I hope it makes you laugh and I hope it makes you cry.  That’s all I want to achieve…just some real entertainment.’

Michael Jacksonearth song brit awards

It is necessary to pay due diligence when peeling off the layers of Michael’s gift of touch if we are to truly understand it.  So unique in its scope and depth, his survival instinct did not include pulling others under to save himself, for no matter how dark the days, Michael took the higher ground…remaining calm in the face of chaos.  A true legend reflects the living life, and the life remembered after death, with the sum total offering inspiration in helping others to live.  For those who know and, for those who don’t,  our peeling honors the gift.  Michael valued touch in an expanded definition which unconditionally accepted that…you take less than you give…always look forward, and never let go.  Hearing the millions of voices crying SAVE ME, Michael believed in miracles that touched both the inner and outer lives of humankind with every touch motivated by LOVE.  Dismissing the philosophy that you can only play the game…but never win, he stood in a position of power defending unpopular causes with a firm hand and a gentle heart.  Michael reached out to teach, illuminate, and inspire…all the while entertaining us with his magical artistry.  In truth, there is only one side of the Michael Jackson story and, for those who, in their increasingly cynical minds,  believe that a chain reaction to hearsay, gossip and rumor innocent elevenhas no end, Michael’s crusade goes on.  We have chosen not to be accomplices to media and extortionist bullying.  Soul-power is at stake here, for Michael has shown us that our real power lies within.

~We are the Guardians of Michael’s Legacy~

Accusation isn’t proof, repeating a lie doesn’t make it true, the line between investigating and persecuting is a fine one not to be stepped over, Michael’s life revealed to us a media that was wrong 100% of the time.  Touching us with the strength of dissent, our search engines have been empowered with a singular mission:  TO PAY MICHAEL FORWARD.  This instrument has given strength to THE NEW MEDIA, also called CITIZEN JOURNALISM.  “The speed of communications is wondrous to behold.  It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.”  Edward R. Murrow

~WE HAVE MUCH TO DO~activist seven

Masquerade the heart

Is the height of haunting souls

Just not what you seek of me

Can the heart reveal the proof

Like a mirror tells the truth

See the evil one is you

IS IT SCARYhandsome and pensive

Michael Jackson~  GHOSTS

Fearless and motivated by LOVE, each day we more deeply understand the love.  It is a gentle caress of a beautiful hand, the soft kiss of a gentle man.  It is the penetrating look from eyes that seem to go on for miles.  It is the hug that never ends.  It is the fire that ignites our sense of injustice and propels us into social justice activism.  It is the ~sparkle from a little girl’s gaze containing the same knowledge that Nature implants at the heart of every life-form~  Michael’s touch is felt in every song, every dance, every performance, every speech, every interview, EVERYTHING in his creations.

~It is simple trusting like a child, not judgmental and committed to one narrow point of view~

“I believe that people living together in unity is one of the most important messages we can teach our children.”ghosts nine

Michael Jackson

~What one wishes is to be touched by truth and to be able to interpret that truth so that one may use what one is feeling and experiencing, be it despair or joy, in a way that will add meaning to one’s life and will hopefully touch others as well.  This is art in its highest from.  Those moments of enlightenment are what I continue to live for~

Michael Jacksonactivist six

With one voice, touching with unconditional love,

Jude

AN IRRESISTIBLE ENTANGLEMENT

“Love is our ultimate reality and our purpose on earth.  To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life.”AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL

A RETURN TO LOVE

Marianne Williamson

“Why do I do what I do?  Some have accused me of being obsessive.  This isn’t an obsession…this is called passion.”

SIMPLY MICHAEL… ZITA

We are enchanted.  Enchanted by his passion.  Enchanted because he held nothing back.  Enchanted because he felt it all with every cell of his being.  “It was the scope of emotions that Michael Jackson could take me to that made him so powerful, and magnetized me so deeply to him.” (Raamayan Ananda, MAN BEHIND THE MIRROR).eyes five

“LIFE IS TOO PRECIOUS AND TOO SHORT NOT TO REACH OUT AND TOUCH THE PEOPLE WE CAN.”

Michael’s enchantment lived in speaking the language of love he so thoroughly understood.  His words reflected his vision of the world.  He was a spiritual being on a human journey, a journey he invited us all to take with him.  He enthusiastically affirmedbad era every value he held dear with every breath he took.  His desires for healing our world were offered as prayers to God by faith.  His magical enchantment gives us an encounter with divinity.  There is great joy in his presence, and the strength of that  presence can be felt from a distance as well as close up.  We feel a freedom that is the best example of faith.  That freeing feeling is what separates passion from obsession…because at its core is love, powerful and compelling…LOVE FOR HIM, LOVE FOR OURSELVES, AND LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.

Michael’s captivating aura shone as light.  People have often described it as a presencezita four that you could feel before you could see it…see him.  Molecules changed, rooms changed.  PEOPLE CHANGED.  Michael himself experienced the light during performances.  “It’s unbelievable.  You feel you are transformed…It is divine, it is pure, itbad performance three is revelation without making it sound spiritual or religious, but it is a divine energy.  Some people call it the spirit…It is God-like.  It is pure God-like energy.  You feel God’s light.”  We feel Michael’s light.  Being with Michael is real, it is authentic and it is profoundly TWYMMF FOURTEENpersonal.  THAT IS THE CONNECTION.  There is power in that.

“Power is the innate inner energy, which lets every seed sprout, which lets every flower blossom and brings every tree to fully unfold its beauty.  Force is an energy which is directed against something and tries in hubristic assertiveness to destroy and extinguish.”  Margott Schuerings FROM KING OF POP TO MAHATMA

This dynamic power binds us together in an irresistible entanglement.  It has left an indelible mark on our souls and we are eager to share it with anyone.

In every generation there are a handful of people who come into this world equipped with the ability to change it for the better because of their heightened sense of awareness about the power of love.  Those people understand love, not as a feeling, but as a state of being, a way of relating to the world.  They have a CHILDREN THIRTY NINEcertain light about them, a way of living that encompasses being kind, caring, compassionate, and empathetic.  Through their ability to connect to love, they have the potential to heal the world.  Michael Jackson was one of them.  His connection to love was so strong that he had an enhanced ability to deeply touch other people with his light.  When someone who is that connected to love focuses their attention on you in a positive way, the result is a flow of energy that penetrates your soul and the outcome is a feeling ofHEART pure joy.  Once that joyful feeling is experienced, you want more, so you continually draw back to the source of it, which in this case is Michael.  LMP touched on it in her recent interview with O.  When she was asked why she fell in love with Michael she said, ‘because he was an incredibly dynamic person.  If you were in his vicinity and he showed you who he was, if he was willing to do that, in anyway, MAN, I’ve never felt so high in my life.  He has something so intoxicating about him.’  Fans know that feeling all too well.  We were always the focus of his attention in a positive way, but it was good to hear that those who were close to him felt the same way.DANGEROUS PERFORMANCE TWO  O even let on to the fact that she was taken in by him…’When I first met him, before the interview in 1992, it’s like he shines his light upon you.  When he opens himself up and let’s that light through, you just want to be in that, you want to be around that.  LMP went on to describe him as her drug.  ‘I felt I just always wanted to be around him.  I always wanted to be a part of it.  I felt so high.  I’ve never felt that way around another human being except for one…which is my father.’  Michael’s light, which affected millions all EMOTION FOURTEENover the world, was so powerful that even in death it keeps pulling people back in.  Once you have been on the receiving end of his light, it’s hard to let him go.  You’re drawn to him forever because it was through him that you experienced theWMCIG FIVE power of love.”

Linda Higgins  MJTP 2010

“I was impressed with the interaction between Michael and the children.  He sat on the bed with children who were deformed and children that were ill.  He sat there and talked to them.  He did not wear a surgical mask like he does sometimes in America and had no fear of contagious diseases, of which there was no danger.  Many people say it, but he does it.  He cares.  That’s what qualifies him as a role model for children…his deeds.”  Charles Bobbit consultant to ex-President Bongo Gabon 1992 Michael’s trip to Gabon

“It is hard to find any facet of our modern pop culture that Michael Jackson has not influenced.  He has inspired new dance forms with his original and signature dance moves.  His legendary music remains as poignant and relevant today as CHILDREN THIRTY EIGHTwhen it first took audiences by storm.  Leader and dreamer, Michael never stopped believing in a world where  justice, peace and love would always prevail.  (inspired by Michael’s thrilling agility, musical grace and the stories he loved so much…MJJJUSTICE PROJECT MICHAEL JACKSON ONE)

Power and light…when we encounter it in Michael Jackson, it is a permanent connection, and unique experience, a magical dream we never want to awaken handsomelevenfrom…but, paradoxically, we awaken to a  reality that binds us in love and determination.  The glow of the light strengthens us.  Our entanglement is wonderfully irresistible.  We are here to CHANGE THE WORLD.  We are ANOTHER PART OF MICHAEL JACKSON.  We dance and sing, bound by our inner core, feeling a love that BAD PERFORMANCE TWOis forever.

I love you, Michael!

I love you, Dear Friends.

Jude

HIS tory

MYstory

YOURstory

OURstory

 

 

 

THE INNOCENTS

born to entertain“There is a deep truth in innocence.  It’s simple and trusting like a child, not judgmental and committed to one narrow point of view.”  Michael Jacksonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC49th-Jf0s

Michael Jackson is often referred to as childish…a child who never grew up.  He is even criticized for that.  But, the simple fact is, Michael just never lost the magic and wonder of living.  If being childlike is characterized by a lack of cynicism and negativism, if it refuses to throw away childish things in an effort to be sophisticated and single-minded, there is no doubt Michael Jackson held onto childlike qualities.  Those who view this as naïve and simple-minded, unintelligent and out of touch, miss the mark completely.  One of the things we learn as we really take the time to get to know Michael Jackson is that his values described his life style.  He didn’t say one thing and do another.  He valued the wisdom of children.  He listened to their conversations.  He encouraged them to think for themselves.  He refused to become a part of the adult community that operated on greed, judging others, living life solely for oneself.  He didn’t lie or cheat to get ahead. Remember the old adage, “Out of the mouths of Babes”?  Children see adults clearly. They tell the truth until educated to do otherwise.  They do not see color, race, culture, religion…those are things taught to them as they grow.  “What we need to learn from children isn’t childish.  Being with them connects us to the deep wisdom of life, which is everpresent and only asks to be lived.” (Michael Jackson Dancing the Dream).  This wisdom is woven into every aspect of Michael Jackson’s actions, whether it was in his professional career or his private life.  Put simply, he walked the talk.  He was the child.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2c_3rJOIdAto be

But, he was an astute, articulate, powerful man who just happened to also be a genius.  So, thinking of him as a man-child has its dangers for the man was anything but a simpleton.   He had the responsibilities of providing for his family from the time he was a child.  He knew from an early age what hard work was.  He was educated and expected to behave like a professional when his peers were playing hide-and-seek in the park.  When he set out on his solo career at age 21, he was the CEO, overseeing a billion dollar enterprise.  He invested brilliantly.  He created a magical wonderland called Neverland, a massive undertaking intended for the happiness of others.  He employed thousands of people and made billions of dollars for his record company, tour companies and an insane number of attorneys.  He was the face for PepsiCo and LA Gear.  Creatively, he was the MASTER.  His was an imaginative visionary until the day of his death.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see this is not the definition of a childish person.eo

Volumes have been written and will be written in the future detailing Michael Jackson’s contributions to music, dance, recording, design, art, performance, theatre, business, film, theme park designs, and humanitarian and philanthropic contributions.  As Michael’s vaults are opened wider, we will be overwhelmed by the contents.  WHEN I SAY GENIUS, I AM NOT KIDDING.golden pants

To think that this astoundingly successful man could maintain a child’s heart, respond to the world with a child’s purity and love, is sometimes more than we can comprehend.  Certainly, the adolescent myth-making media didn’t possess any of the tools to understand.  Conversely, they made misunderstanding an artform.  Of course, highly dubious motives are at the core of it, but, low ceiling imaginations, low intellect and a penchant to turn things into something sexual play heavily in their world.  The media thrives on cynicism and enjoys judging in a most self-righteous way.  And, their obsession with Michael Jackson is legend.

To facilitate our understanding, let’s turn to the expert on Michael Jackson…and, of course, that would be the man himself.  His parable “Wise Little Girl” gives us great insight.  This is taken from DANCING THE DREAM.bad girl

“I know a wise little girl who cannot walk.  She is confined to a wheelchair, and she may spend the rest of her life there, since her doctors hold out almost no hope of ever making her paralyzed legs better.  When I first met this little girl, she flashed me a smile that burned me with its blazing happiness.  How open she was!  She wasn’t hiding out from self-pity or asking for approval or protecting herself from a sense of shame.  She felt completely innocent about not being able to walk, like a puppy that has no idea if it is a mongrel or champion of the breed.  She made no judgments about herself.  That was her wisdom.  I have seen the same wise look in other children, ‘poor’ children as society sees them, because they lack food, money, secure homes, or healthy bodies.  By the time they reach a certain age, many of these children grasp just how bad their situation is.  The way that adults look at their lives robs them of that first innocence that is so precious and rare.  They begin to believe that they should feel bad about themselves; that this is ‘right.’  But this wise little girl, being only four, floated above pity and shame like a carefree sparrow.  She took my heart in her hands and made it as weightless as a cotton puff, so that it was impossible for me to even begin to think, ‘What a terrible thing.’  All I saw was light and love.  In their innocence, very young children know themselves to be light and love.  If we allow them, they can teach us to see ourselves the same way.  One sparkle from a little girl’s gaze contains the same knowledge that Nature implants at the heart of every life-form.  It is life’s silent secret, not to put into words.  It just knows.  It knows peace and how not to hurt.  It knows that even the least breath is a gesture of gratitude to the Creator.  It smiles to be alive, waiting patiently for ages of ignorance and sorrow to pass away like a mirage.  I see this knowledge showing itself in the eyes of children more and more, which makes me think that their innocence is growing stronger.  They are going to disarm us adults, and that will be enough to disarm the world.  They feel no reason to spoil the environment, and so the environment will be cleaned up without a quarrel.  A wise little girl told me the future when she looked at me, so full of peace and contentment.  I rejoice in trusting her above all the experts.  As light and love drive away our guilt and shame, her prophecy must come true.”hug

We see the silent secret Michael spoke about in him.  He glowed with light and love as a small child and that luminescence continued through his entire life.  It has taught us to see light and love in ourselves and in one another.  This light has raised our consciousness to help heal our planet, our children and hearts around the world.  Holding onto childlike innocence, Michael inspires masses of people to imagine a better world.  “He moves like God is going through him.  He’s just natural.  There’s a purity to it.  He’s a pure person.  There’s no malicious intent in him at all.  He’s a kid.  That’s the true essence of a kid.  There’s nobody more kid-like than Michael Jackson.  People say, ‘Oh, he needs to grow up, he’s a 40-something year old man, but, the truth is that’s what makes him special.  He sees the world in a different way.  He can read the mind of an adult better than an adult can read his mind.  That’s what makes him special, Mike has the mind of a kid and when you have the mind of a kid, you’re smarter than an adult.  You see through the BS.  Kids…you know how they are, they say the truth.” Brad Ratner American Film Director, Producer and Music Video Director.mtv

Michael Jackson was perceptive.  Michael Bush talks about it when he says, “Michael possessed a keen emotional intelligence that made him adept at analyzing body language and interpreting facial expressions.  He could tell if you were bored, engaged, or excited about an idea just by looking at you.”

“For me, he was by far the most fun person I’d ever been around in my life.  I just miss the fun.  Everyone has their own thing about him as an artist, but, I always go back to the person he was, such a fun person.  When I was a kid, if I knew we were going to see Uncle Michael, I would have butterflies in my stomach because I knew we were going to have the best time.  He was the ultimate hangout person.  The type that would talk about nothing til five in the morning, but at the same time, you’re getting tons of lessons.  I just miss the person, the human being.”  Austin Brown Nephew (Rebbie’s son.)bryton

That trusting, fun, funny person eagerly gave to all who spent time with him.  He often said how much he wanted to bring joy into people’s lives, and, without a doubt, he did.  Many have said he should have been more cautious, less trusting.  But, childlike innocence and distrusting are not compatible…it is an oxymoron.  Michael was Michael in everything he did, every action, every word he uttered.  He was authentic.  That was his identity.  “Stay true to you.  He was persistent on me just being real, real in my sound, real in myself.  Also to work hard at creating my own identity.”  Austin Brown.  That is the advice Michael gave.  And, that is the philosophy he lived by.

“Michael was like a harp string, he was so sensitive and vulnerable that every breath of wind or emotion would reverberate through him in sensitivity.”  Jane Fonda

“MICHAEL DIDN’T NEED ANYONE OR ANYTHING IN THE WORLD TO BE MICHAEL JACKSON.  HIS SOUL AND HIS TALENT SHONE THROUGH AT HIS BIRTH.  HIS CAPACITY TO LOVE AND FORGIVE HIS ABUSERS, HIS TORTURERS, THOSE WHO HATED AND ENVIED HIS TALENT…IS INSPIRATION FOR US ALL.  MICHAEL’S SOUL AND TALENT FLOW AROUND THE PLANET LIKE THE TRADE WINDS AND THE SUN’S RAYS…FOREVER.”  Robert BlakeRESPECT

My Dear Friends…we are on a journey seeking knowledge and understanding into the tapestry of a massive life.  “Every life is both tragic and miraculous, I think, but this was so much more intense in Michael’s iconic life simply because of the scale of it.” ( L. Luzajic)  Michael’s childlike innocence, his trust and vulnerability are woven into the fabric.  This aspect of his character informs every other layer of his life and with it comes unconditional love, finding goodness and potential in people and the sparkle of light in the joy of being alive. Thank you for PAYING MICHAEL FORWARD with me.  I love you with all my heart.

art incarnateJude

HIS TORY

MYSTORY

OURSTORY

 

 

 

 

HEAL THE KID…OXFORD UNION ADDRESS

Oxford Union Address

Oxford University, England

Heal the Kid Initiative

Michael Jackson  2001peter pan

     Thank you, Dear Friends, from the bottom of my heart for such a lovely and spirited welcome and thank you, Mr. President, for your invitation to me.  I am so honored to accept.  Thank you, Rabbi Shumuley, who served here as rabbi for eleven years.  You and I have been working so hard to start HEAL THE KIDS and our book about childlike qualities.  Through all of our efforts, you have been such a supportive and loving friend.  I also want to thank Toba Freidman, our director of operations at HEAL THE KIDS, for returning tonight to her alma mater where she served as a Marshal Scholar…as well as Marilyn Piels, another central member of our HEAL THE KIDS team.

I’m humbled to be lecturing in a place that has previously been filled by such notable figures as Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein, Ronald Reagan, Robert Kennedy and Malcolm X.  I even heard that Kermit the Frog made an appearance here.  I’ve always felt a kinship with Kermit’s message that it’s not easy being green.  I’m sure he didn’t find it any easier being up here than I do.  As I look around Oxford, I can’t help but be aware of the majesty and grandeur of this institution, not to mention the brilliance of the great and gifted minds that have roamed these streets for centuries.  The walls of Oxford have not only housed the greatest philosophical and scientific geniuses, they have also ushered forth some of the most cherished creators of children’s literature from JRRTolkien, to CS Lewis.  Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” is immortalized in the stained glass windows of Christ’s Church, and, even one of my fellow Americans, the beloved Dr. Suess.  He graced these halls and then went on to leave his mark on the imaginations of young children throughout the world.ebony two

I suppose I should start by listing my qualifications to speak before you this evening.  Friends, I do not have, to claim, an academic expertise of other speakers who have addressed this hall.  Just as they could lay little claim at being adept at the moonwalk.  And, you know, Albert Einstein, particularly, was really terrible at that.  But, I do have a claim to having experienced more cultures than most people will ever see.  Human knowledge, not only consists of libraries of parchments and ink, but it’s also comprised of the volumes of knowledge that are written on the human heart…on the human soul and engraved on the human psyche.  And Friends, I have encountered so much in this short lifetime of mine, that I still cannot believe I am only 42.  I often tell Shmuley that in SOUL years, I’m sure I’m at least 80.  And tonight, I even walk like I’m 80.  So please harken to my message, because what I have to tell you tonight can bring healing to humanity and healing to the planet.

Through the Grace of God, I have been fortunate to have achieved many of my artistic and professional aspirations early in my lifetime.  But, these accomplishments alone are not who I am.  Indeed, the cheery five-year-old who belted out “Rockin Robin” and “Ben” to adoring fans was not indicative of the boy behind the smile.  Tonight, I come before you, less an icon of pop (whatever that means anyway), and more as an icon of a generation…a generation that no longer knows what it means to be children.rescuer

All of us are products of our childhood.  But, I am a product of the lack of childhood…an absence of that precious and wondrous age when we frolic playfully without a care in the world, basking in the adoration of parents and relatives, where our biggest concern is studying for that big spelling test on Monday morning.  Those of you who are familiar with the Jackson Five know that I began performing at the tender age of five and that ever since then, I haven’t stopped dancing and singing.  But, while performing and making music undoubtedly remain as many of my greatest joys, when I was young I wanted more than anything else to be a typical little boy.  I wanted to build tree houses, have water balloon fights and play hide-and-seek with my friends.  But, fate had it otherwise and all I could do was envy the laughter and playtime that seemed to be going on all around me.  There was no rest from my professional lifestyle, for on Sundays, I would gobaby boy Pioneering…work that Jehovah’s Witnesses do.  And it was then that I was able to see the magic of other people’s childhood.  Since I was already a celebrity, I would have to put on a disguise…a fat suit, a wig, a beard and glasses, and we would spend the day in the suburbs of Southern California going door to door or making the rounds of shopping malls, distributing our Watchtower magazines.  I loved to set foot in all those regular suburban houses and catch sight of the fireplaces and Lay Z Boy armchairs with kids playing Monopoly and Grandmas babysitting…all those wonderful, ordinary starry scenes of everyday life.  Many, I know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal.  But, to Me they were mesmerizing.  I used to think that I was unique that I was without a childhood.  I believed that indeed there were only a handful of people with whom I could share those feelings.  When I recently met with Shirley Temple Black, the great child star of the 1930’s and 40’s, we said nothing to each other at first, we simply handsome sevencried together…for she could share the pain with me that only others like my close friends Elizabeth Taylor and McCauley Culkin could.  I do not tell you this to gain your sympathy, but, to impress upon you my important point…it is not just Hollywood child stars that have suffered from a non-existent childhood.  Today, it’s a universal calamity, a global catastrophe.

Childhood has become the great catastrophe of modern day living.  All around us we are producing scores of kids who have not had joy, who have not been accorded the right, who have not been allowed the freedom of knowing what it’s like to be a kid.  Today’s children are constantly encouraged to grow up faster, as if this period known as childhood is a burdensome stage to be endured and ushered through as swiftly as possible.  And on that subject, I am certainly one of the world’s greatest experts  Ours is a generation that has witnessed the abrogation of the PARENT/CHILD COVENANT.  Psychologists are publishing libraries of books detailing the destructive effects of denying one’s children the unconditional love that is so necessary to their healthy development of their mind and character.  And because of all the neglect, too many of our kids essentially have to raise themselves.  They are growing more distant from their parents and grandparents and other family members as all around us the indestructible bond that once glued together generations unravels. This violation bred a new generation…GENERATION O…let’s call it Generation O that has now picked up the torch from Generation X.  The O stands for a generation that has everyting on the minnieOUTSIDE…wealth, success, fancy clothing and fancy cars, but an aching emptiness on the INSIDE.  That cavity in our chests, that barronness at our core, that void in our center is the place where the heart once beat and which love once occupied.  It’s not just the kids who are suffering.  It’s the parents as well.  For, the more we cultivate little adults in kids’ bodies, the more removed we ourselves become from our own child-like qualities, and there is so much about being a child that is worth retaining in adult life.

LOVE-Ladies and Gentlemen-LOVE is the human family’s most precious legacy, its richest bequest, it’s golden inheritance that is handed down from one generation to the other.  Previous ages may not have had the wealth we enjoy.  Their houses may have lacked electricity and they squeezed their many kids into small homes with no central heating.  But those homes had no darkness nor were they cold.  They were lit bright with the glow of love and they were warmed snugly with the very heat of the human heart.  Parents, undistracted by the lust for luxury and status, accorded their children primacy in their lives.  As you all know, our two countries broke from each other over what Thomas Jefferson referred to as “certain inalienable rights.”  And, while wehandsome six Americans and British might dispute the justice of his claims, what is never in dispute is that children have certain obvious rights, and the gradual erosion of those rights has led to scores of children worldwide being denied the joys and security of childhood.  I would therefore like to propose tonight that we install in every home a CHILDREN’S UNIVERSAL BILL OF RIGHTS, the tenets of which are these:sharing and receiving love

THE RIGHT TO BE LOVED WITHOUT HAVING TO EARN IT.

THE RIGHT TO BE PROTECTED WITHOUT HAVING TO DESERVE IT.

THE RIGHT TO FEEL VALUABLE EVEN IF YOU COME INTO THE WORLD WITH NOTHING.

THE RIGHT TO BE LISTENED TO WITHOUT HAVING TO BE INTERESTING.

THE RIGHT TO BE READ A BEDTIME STORY WITHOUT HAVING TO COMPETE WITH THE EVENING NEWS OR EAST ENDERS.

THE RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION WITHOUT HAVING TO DODGE BULLETS AT SCHOOL.

THE RIGHT TO BE THOUGHT OF AS ADORABLE (EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE.)

     Friends, the foundation of all human knowledge, the beginning of humantiitwelve consciousness must be that each and every one of us is an object of love.  BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, BEFORE YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE RED HAIR OR BROWN…BEFORE YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE BLACK OR WHITE, BEFORE YOU KNOW WHAT RELIGION YOU ARE A PART OF…YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED!

About 12 years ago, when I was just about to start my BAD TOUR, a little boy came with his parents to my California home.  He was dying of cancer and he told me how much he loved me and my music.  His parents told me that he wasn’t going to live…that any day he could just go.  I said to him, “Look, I am going to be coming to your hometown in Kansas to start my tour in 3 months.  I want you to come to the show.  I am going to give you this jacket that I wore in one of my videos.”  His eyes lit up and he said, “YOU’RE GOING TO GIVE ME YOUR JACKET?”  I said, “YES!  I’m going to givechildren seven you the jacket, but, you have to promise that you will wear it to the show!”

I was trying to make him hold on.  I said, “When you come to the show, I want to see you in this jacket and in this glove.”  I gave him one of my rhinestone gloves which I never give to anyone.  He was in heaven.

But, maybe he was too close to heaven, because when I came to his town, he had already died and they had buried him in the glove and jacket.  He was just 10 years old.  God knows and I know that he tried his best to hold on.  But, at least when he died, he knew he was loved, not only by his parents, but, even by me, as a near stranger.  I also loved him.  He knew with all that love that he didn’t come into the world alone and certainly didn’t leave it alone. IF YOU ENTER THE WORLD KNOWING YOU ARE LOVED, AND YOU LEAVE KNOWING THE SAME, THEN, EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN BETWEEN CAN BE DEALT WITH.to be

A professor may degrade you, but you will not feel degraded.  A boss may crush you but you will not feel crushed.  A corporate gladiator might vanquish you but you will still triumph.  How could any of them truly prevail in pulling you down.  For you know that you are the object worthy of love.  The rest is packaging.

If you don’t have that memory of being loved, you are condemned to search the world for something to fill you up.  But, no matter how much money you make or how famous you become, you will still feel empty.  What you are searching for is unconditional love, unqualified acceptance.  And, that was the one thing that was denied you at birth.

Friends, let me paint a picture for you.  Here is a typical day in America…6 youths under the age of 20 will commit suicide…12 children under the age of 20 will die from firearms…REMEMBER, THIS IS A DAY, NOT A YEAR…399 kids will be arrested for drug abuse…1,352 babies will be born to teen mothers.  THIS IS HAPPENING IN ONE OF THE RICHEST, MOST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.  YES!  In my country there is an epidemic of violence that parallels no other industrial nation.  These are the ways young people in America express their hurts, theirwbss anger.  But, don’t think that there is not the same pain and anguish among their counterparts in the UK.  Studies in this country show that every single hour, 3 teens in the UK inflict harm upon themselves often cutting or burning themselves, burning their bodies or taking an overdose.  This is how they have chosen to cope with the pain of neglect and emotional agony.  In Britain, 20% of families will only sit down and have dinner together once a year.  ONCE A YEAR!  And what about the time-honored tradition of reading your kids a bedtime story.  Research from the 1980’s showed that children who are read to had far greater literacy and significantly outperformed their peers at school.  And yet, less than 33% of British children ages 2-8 have a regular bedtime story read to them. You may not think much of that until you take into account that 75% of their parents DID have a bedtime story when they were that age.hug

Clearly, we do not have to ask ourselves where all of this pain, anger and violent behavior comes from.  It is self-evident that children are thundering against neglect, quaking against indifference and crying just to be noticed.

The various child-protection agencies in the US say that millions of children are victims of maltreatment in the form of neglect.  In rich homes, privileged homes, wired to the hilt with every electronic gadget…homes where parents come home, but they’re really still at the office.  And, the kids…well, their kids just make do with whatever emotional crumbs they get.  And, you don’t get much from watching a lot of television and computer games and videos.  These hard, cold numbers which for me wrench the soul and shake the spirit, should indicate to you why I have developed so much of my time and resources into making our new HEAL THE KIDS INITIATIVE a colossal success.  Our goal is simple…to recreate the parent/child bond…to renew its promise and light the way forward for all the beautiful children who are destined one day to walk this earth. But, since this is my first public lecture, and you have so warmly welcomed me into your hearts, I feel that I want to tell you more.  We each have our own story and in that sense statistics can become personal.

They say that parenting is like dancing.  You take one step and your child takes another.  I have discovered that getting parents to rededicate themselves to their children is only half the story.  The other half is preparing the children to reaccept the parents.  When I was very young, I remember that we had this crazy mutt dog named Black Girl.  She was a mix of wolf and retriever.  Not only wasn’t she much of a guard dog, she was such a scared and nervous thing that it is a wonder that she did not pass out every time a truck rumbled by or a thunderstorm swept into Indiana.  My sister, Janet and I gave that dog so much love, but we never really won back the sense of trust that had been stolen by her previous owner.  We knew he used to beat her.  We didn’t know with what, but, whatever it was, it was enough to suck the spirit right out of that dog.  A lot of kids today are hurt puppies who have weaned themselves off the need for love.  They couldn’t care less about their parents.  Left to their own devices, they cherish their independence.  They have moved on in life and have left their parents behind.  Then there are the far worse cases of children who harbour animosity and resentment toward their parents so that any overature that their parents might undertake would be thrown forcefully back in their faces.h the world

Tonight, I don’t want any of us to make this mistake.  That’s why I’m calling upon all the world’s children-beginning with all of us here tonight-to forgive our parents.  If we felt neglected…FORGIVE.  Forgive them and teach them how to love again.  You probably weren’t surprised to hear that I did not have an idyllic childhood.  The strain and tension that exists in my relationship with my father is well documented.  My father is a tough man and he pushed my brothers and me hard, really hard from the earliest age…for the best.  He wanted us to be the best performers we could possibly be.  He had great difficulty showing affection.  He never really told me he loved me.  And, he never really complimented me either.  If I did a great show, he would tell me it was a good show.  If I did an OK show, he would say nothing.  He seemed intent, above all else, (I need a tissue, I’m sorry) he seemed intent, above all else, on making us a commercial success.  At that he was more than adept.  My father was a managerial genius and my brothers and I owe our professional success, in no small measure, to the forceful way that he pushed us.  He trained me as a showman and under his guidance I couldn’t miss a step.  But, what I really wanted was a DAD.  I wanted a father who showed me love and my father never did that.  He never said, “I love you!” while looking me straight in the eye.  He never played a game with me.  He never gave me a piggyback ride.  He never threw a pillow at me or a water balloon.  But, I remember once when I was about 4 years old, there was a little carnival and he picked me up and put me on a pony.  It was a tiny gesture, probably something he forgot five minutes later.  But, because of that moment, I have a special place in my heart for him.  Because, that’s how kids are…the little things mean so much.  THEY MEAN SO MUCH!  To me, that moment meant everything.  I only experienced it one time, but that one time made me feel good about him and about the world.wonder

But, now I am a father myself and one day I was thinking about my own children, Prince and Paris, and how I wanted them to think of me when they grow up.  To be sure, I would like them to remember how I always wanted them with me wherever I went.  How I always tried to put them before anything else.  But, there are also challenges in their lives.  Because my kids are stalked by paparazzi, they can’t always go to the park or to the movies with me.  So, what if they resent me when they grow older.  What if they resent how my choices impacted their youth?  Why weren’t we given an average childhood like the other kids, they might ask.  And, at the moment, I pray that my children will give me the benefit of the doubt.  That they would say to themselves, “Our Daddy did the best he could given the unique circumstances that he faced.  He may not have been perfect, but he was a warm and decent man who tried to give us all the love in the world.”  I hope that they will always focus on the positive things, on the sacrifices I willingly made for them and not criticize the things they had to give up or the errors I’ve made and will certainly continue to make in raising them.forgiveness

For we have all been someone’s child and we know that despite the very best of plans and efforts, mistakes will always occur.  That’s just being human.  And when I think about this, how I hope that my children will not judge me unkindly and will forgive me, forgive my shortcomings, I am forced to think of my own father and despite my earlier denial, I am forced to admit that he must have loved me.  He did love me and I know that.  There were little things that showed that…I was a kid and I had a real sweet tooth.  We all did.  My father knew that, so every few weeks, I would come downstairs in the morning and there on the kitchen counter was a bag of glazed donuts.  No note, no explanation…just the donuts.  It was like Santa Claus.  Sometimes, I would think about staying up late at night so I could see him leave them there, but just like Santa Claus, I didn’t want to ruin the magic for fear he would never do it again.  My father had to leave them secretly at night so as no one would catch him with his guard down.  He was scared of human emotion.  He didn’t understand it or know how to deal with it.  BUT, HE DID KNOW GLAZED DONUTS. And, when I allow the flood gates to open up, there are other memories that come rushing back…memories of other tiny gestures, however imperfect, that showed that he did what he could.  So tonight, rather than focusing on what my father did not do…I want to focus on all the things he did do and on his own personal challenges.angel boy

I just started reflecting on the fact that my father grew up in the South in a very poor family.  He came of age during the Depression and his own father struggled to feed his children, showed little affection towards his family and raised him…he raised my father and his siblings with an iron fist.  Who could have imagined what it was like to grow up a poor, black man in the South, robbed of dignity, bereft of hope, struggling to become a man in a world that saw my father as subordinate. I was the first Black artist to be played on MTV and I remember how big a deal that was even then…and, that was in the 1980’s!

My father moved to Indiana and had a large family of his own, working long hours in the steel mills…work that kills the lungs and humbles the spirit…all to support his family.  Is it any wonder that he found it difficult to expose his feelings.  Is it a mystery that he hardened his heart…that he raised his emotional ramparts and, most of all, is it any wonder why he pushed his sons so hard to succeed as performers so that they could be saved from what he knew to be a life of indignity and poverty.  I have begun to see that even my father’s harshness was a kind of love, an imperfect love to be sure, but love nonetheless.  He pushed me because he loved me, because he wanted no man to ever look down at his offspring, and now, with time, rather than bitterness, I feel blessing.  In the place of anger, I have found absolution and in the place of revenge, I have found reconcilliation.  And my initial fury has slowly given way to forgiveness.cub

Almost a decade ago, I founded a children’s charity called HEAL THE WORLD.  The title was something I felt inside me.  Little did I know, as Shmuley later pointed out, that those two words form the cornerstone of Old Testament prophecy.

DO I REALLY BELIEVE THAT WE CAN HEAL THE WORLD THAT IS RIDDLED WITH WAR AND HATE AND GENOCIDE EVEN TODAY?  And, do I really think that we can heal our children who, as the papers reported this morning, can walk into a high school in San Diego and shoot down two beautiful students just at the beginning of their lives?  A horrifying reminder of the guns and hatred that shot through Columbine almost 2 years ago.  Or, children who can beat a defenseless toddler to death like the tragic story of Jamie Bulger.ryan

OF COURSE I DO!  OF COURSE I DO!  Or, I wouldn’t be here tonight.  But, it all begins with FORGIVENESS because to Heal the World, we first have to heal ourselves.  And to Heal the Kids, we first have to heal the child within each and every one of us.  As an adult, and as a parent, I realize that I cannot be a whole human being, nor a parent capable of unconditional love, until I put to rest the ghosts of my own childhood.  And that’s what I’m asking all of us to do tonight.  Live up to the fifth of the Ten Commandments.  Honor your parents by not judging them.  Give them the benefit of the doubt.  That is why I want to forgive my father and to stop judging him.  I want to forgive my father because I want a father and this is the only one I got.  I want the weight of the past lifted from my shoulders and I want to be free to step into a new relationship with my father for the rest of my life, unhindered by the goblins of the past.

     IN A WORLD FILLED WITH HATE, WE MUST STILL DARE TO HOPE.  KEEP HOPE ALIVE.  IN A WORLD FILLED WITH ANGER, WE MUST STILL DARE TO COMFORT.  IN A WORLD FILLED WITH DESPAIR, WE MUST STILL DARE TO DREAM.  IN A WORLD FILLED WITH DISTRUST, WE MUST STILL DARE TO BELIEVE.

     To all of you tonight who feel let down by your parents, I ask you to let down your disappointment.  To all of you tonight who feel cheated by your fathers and mothers, I ask you not to cheat yourselves further.  And to all of you who wish to push your parents away, I ask you to extend your hand to them instead.  I am asking you, I am asking myself, to give our parents the gift of unconditional love, so that they, too, may learn how to love from us, their children.  So that love will finally be restored to a desolate and lonely world.Africa two

Shumley once mentioned to me an ancient Biblical prophecy which says that a new world and a new time would come when “the hearts of the people would be restored through the hearts of their children.”  MY FRIENDS, WE ARE THAT WORLD, WE ARE THOSE CHILDREN.  Mahatma Ghandhi said, ” The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”  Tonight, be strong.  Beyond being strong, risk to the greatest challenge of all, TO RESTORE THAT COVENANT.  We must all overcome whatever crippling effects our childhood may have had on our lives and in the words of Jesse Jackson, “Forgive each other, redeem each other and MOVE ON.”  This call for forgiveness may not result in Oprah moments the world over with thousands of children making up with their parents, but it will at least be a start, and we’ll be so much happier as a result.

And so, Ladies and Gentlemen, I conclude my remarks tonight with faith, with joy and excitement.

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD…

LET A NEW SONG BE HEARD

LET A NEW SONG BE THE SOUND OF CHILDREN LAUGHING

LET THAT NEW SONG BE THE SOUND OF CHILDREN PLAYING

LET THAT NEW SONG BE THE SOUND OF CHILDREN SINGING

AND, LET THAT NEW SONG BE THE SOUND OF PARENTS LISTENING.hospital boy

.     TOGETHER, LET US CREATE A SYMPHONY OF HEARTS MARVELLING AT THE MIRACLES OF OUR CHILDREN AND BASKING IN THE BEAUTY OF LOVE.  LET US HEAL THE WORLD AND BLIGHT ITS PAIN AND MAY WE ALL MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC TOGETHER.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnkzSb7DoDo

God bless you and I love you.Jude 002

MAGIC MICHAEL

 “MY IDEA OF MAGIC DOESN’T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH STAGE TRICKS AND dangerous threeILLUSIONS.  THE WHOLE WORLD ABOUNDS IN MAGIC.  WHEN A WHALE PLUNGES OUT OF THE SEA LIKE A NEWBORN MOUNTAIN, YOU GASP IN UNEXPECTED DELIGHT.  WHAT MAGIC!  BUT A TODDLER WHO SEES HIS FIRST TADPOLE FLASHING IN A MUD PUDDLE FEELS THE SAME THRILL.  WONDER FILLS HIS HEART, BECAUSE HE HAS GLIMPSED FOR AN INSTANT THE PLAYFULNESS OF LIFE.loved

WHEN I SEE THE CLOUDS WHISKED AWAY FROM A SNOW-CAPPED PEAK, I FEEL LIKE SHOUTING, ‘BRAVO!’  NATURE, THE BEST OF ALL MAGICIANS, HAS DELIVERED ANOTHER THRILL.  SHE HAS EXPOSED THE REAL ILLUSION, OUR INABILITY TO BE AMAZED BY HER WONDERS.  EVERY TIME THE SUN RISES, NATURE IS REPEATING ONE COMMAND: ‘BEHOLD!’  HER MAGIC IS INFINITELY LAVISH, AND IN RETURN ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS APPRECIATE IT.

WHAT DELIGHT NATURE MUST FEEL WHEN SHE MAKES STARS OUT OF SWIRLING GAS AND EMPTY SPACE.  SHE FLINGS THEM LIKE SPANGLES FROM A VELVET CAPE, A BILLION REASONS FOR US TO AWAKEN IN PURE JOY.  WHEN WE OPEN OUR HEARTS AND APPRECIATE ALL SHE HAS GIVEN US, NATURE FINDS HER REWARD.  THE SOUND OF APPLAUSE ROLLS ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, AND SHE BOWS.  Dancing the Dream  Michael Jackson 1992toes

“I love to create magic…to put together something that’s so unusual, so unexpected that it blows people’s heads off.  Something ahead of the times.  Five steps ahead of what people are thinking.  So people see it and say, ‘Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that!'” Michael Jackson Man in the Music  Joseph Vogel 2011

“Michael Jackson’s art transcended every way that human beings have thought of to separate themselves, and then healed those divisions, at least at the instant that we all shared his music as the GLOBALLY UNDERSTOOD GRAMMAR OF HOPE.  You didn’t have to speak English to understand Michael.  His language, as hokey as it sounds, was the language of joy and love.”  Michael Eric Dyson Ebony Magazinehope

“I don’t think I have ever worked with an artist that can cause as much excitement as Michael.  When Bea and I have traveled with Michael to his concerts all over the world, we have often thought that we don’t know Michael Jackson, the performer, that amazing person on stage.  To experience the music that we have recorded together in a concert, with tens of thousands of people, in a foreign land, and feel the intensity of the emotions of the crowds, is something I can’t find the words to describe!  For someone like me, who usually only hears the music I’m involved with in the recording studio, to be on tour with Michael is a tremendous event.  I get chills just thinking about it.” Bruce Swedien  In the Studio with Michael Jackson 2009wembley

“It’s really extraordinary during the whole night emotion was high, a very personal emotion because I think people who heard or saw Michael Jackson once in their life, even if they aren’t close to that music, were touched by his appearance, his charm, the beauty of his music because the first thing that has to be said is that he was a great musician.”  Frederic Mitterand French Culture Minister

“Why we can’t take our eyes and minds off him?  Because he entered deeply in our souls, because he gave us everything, because he exploited himself until to exhaustion, he gave us new magic shows, because he was not turned back when offended or doubted, because he always turned more fascinating and more amazing to our delight, because he simply loved us with all his heart.”  It’s All About L.O.V.E.  THE FANSalone

     People who were lucky enough to have experienced being near him said that when he entered into a room the room changed.  People, children flocked to Michael.  People wanted to love him.  His love for humanity was evident in the way he treated every single person he met.  He had no ego.  He was very humble.  He was a teacher with a message.badeight

“He reached and touched the entire world with his music.  His body was the vessel through which he channeled the white hot energy of universal love…the life force or God’s Glory… his everlasting hope and love for mankind.  He wanted everyone to see this connectedness, this bond that we all share with one another, the animals, the trees, everything on the planet…the moon, the stars and the universe.  We are all one.” An Angel Among Us We Called Him Michael Jackson  Ms.Elizabeth Michelle Billeaudeaux prince charming2010

“He’s incredible.  He’s a genius.  Just to be in the same room with him, I felt everything I wanted to accomplish in life had been achieved…That aura…that’s how incredible that aura is.  The way he thinks.  Some artists think regional, some think national, I was thinking international, HE THINKS PLANETS!  I wish the world could have just seen Mike the person.”  Akon “Right On!”

“HERE IS MY EXPERIENCE WITH TRUTH.  DID YOU EVER FEEL JUST TOO TIRED OR SICK TO GO TO WORK?  OR MAYBE SOMETHING DRAMATIC HAPPENED IN YOUR LIFE, WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT TO GO TO WORK.  AFTER 27 YEARS, I HAD DAYS LIKE THAT, EVEN WITH MICHAEL.  BUT ONCE I ENTER THE ROOM, WHERE MICHAEL WAS, I WAS IMMEDIATELY ohhhhhh twoBATHED IN ENERGY.  HE WAS CONSTANTLY GIVING ENERGY.  HE WAS NOT DOING ANYTHING, BUT BEING THERE.  HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DANCE OR SING.  YOU COULD ALSO SEE, EVERYONE IN THE ROOM WAS AFFECTED BY THIS ENERGY ALSO.  I NEVER LEFT A JOB WORKING WITH MICHAEL DEPLETED.  I LEFT INSPIRED.  I KNOW ALL OF YOU HAVE FELT IT, TOO.”  Karen Faye-A Life Intersected 2010

“Michael Jackson was a stage magician. He was utterly euphoric, electrifying the audience with his trademark pop-and-lock dance.  He always took his performances ten steps beyond.  Instead of waving a magic wand, Michael used his hands and feet.  Dancing fiercely, he used them like props, extending his 120-pound frame with every dramatic movement, furthering the illusion that he was larger than life.  Living with intention and meaning was what motivated Michael. come Through the convictions Michael wrote and sang about, he inspired generations to seek a similar higher state of being.  And when he took his show on the road, the exchange of energy between Michael and his fans built a tight-knit, socially conscious community.  HIS MIND, LIKE THE SKY, SIMPLY KNEW NOT THE CONCEPT OF BOUNDARIES OR LIMITS.  LIMITATIONS, I LEARNED THROUGH HIM, ARE EITHER SELF-IMPOSED OR PREDICATED BY THE LIMITED VISION OF OTHERS.  MICHAEL DIDN’T BELIEVE IN THE IMPOSSIBLE.” The King of Style Dressing Michael Jackson   Michael Bush 2012

“I’VE NEVER WITNESSED ANYTHING OR ANYONE AS POWERFUL AS MICHAEL”  SENSUALTeddy Riley

    Magnetism is defined as unusual power to attract, fascinate or influence.  The best magic doesn’t trick you…it makes you believe.  In my researching, I have come across countless people who felt a certain type of magic that Michael had…if you spent time with him, you were changed for the better.  I feel such a strong connection to them because I know the change that has happened to me.  The feelings are so very strong.  They come from studying the music, I mean really studying it.  They come from watching performances and getting lost in the beauty, talent and art…the showmanship.  They come from my very core. THEY TRULY COME FROM FEELING THE MAGIC.  Many have said that you just can’t get enough of Michael. I know I can’t.  There are good reasons for that…The depth, the tapestry, the layers, the inspiration, thebadso much truths, the genius, the sights and sounds, the never-ending surprises…all touch my heart and give me so very much to think about.  And, of course, JOY!  “TO ME, NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY, GIVING THEM A RELEASE FROM THEIR PROBLEMS AND WORRIES, HELPING TO LIGHTEN THEIR LOAD.  I WANT THEM TO WALK AWAY FROM A PERFORMANCE I’VE DONE SAYING, ‘That was great!  I want to go back again.  I had a great time.’ To me, that’s what it’s all about.  That’s wonderful!”  MJ.  Michael succeeded in that goal over and over again.  We all leave wanting more.  That connection, that bond, we will talk about another time.  For now, I leave you with Michael’s words. Have a wonderful day.super bowl two

Jude

“Michael Jackson sometimes compared the reciprocal energy of a performance to a Frisbee…’you hold it, you touch it, and you whip it back.’ Audiences, he believed, were more than passive spectators; they were a vibrant community, composed of all ages, races, religions, and cultures, standing shoulder to shoulder, temporarily bound up in the collective spell of his music, imagining the world anew.  ‘You can take them anywhere,’ he effused.  This was his gift as an brunei twoartist; the ability to dissolve into the stories, the emotions, the MAGIC of his music…and to take masses of people from all walks of life with him.  He called this creative BOND many things over the years:  ESCAPISM, ENTERTAINMENT, SHOWMANSHIP, ART.  BUT ULTIMATELY, FOR MICHAEL JACKSON, IT WAS ABOUT SHARING AND RECEIVING LOVE.”  Man in the Music  Joseph Vogel 2011fencing

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“When one person believes in something it’s a dream.”

“When two persons share the same dream…it’s a beginning of a new reality.”  MJ

     If you believe that each of us came into this world possessing gifts.  And…you also accept the premise that a unique path was shaped specific to us.  Given those tenets, Michael Jackson’s unparalleled gifts brought with them a legacy that is timeless.  Paths are seldom smooth…twisting, turning, undulating and intersecting, AND always, always, ALWAYS surprising.hot 

     Consider my shock, as I meandered through 2009, to come face to face with one whose path impacted a planet of people.  Suddenly, a world of learning presented itself.  My journey took a life-changing turn into a complicatedly impactful series of events spanning five decades.  But, this path wasn’t only historical, it was also in the moment, in the NOW and reaching its fingers and toes into future generations. The words gigantic, gargantuan, massive are all too small to really describe the enormity of Michael’s path.

     SPEECHLESS…the lyrics of that song applied to me.  For one who seldom is at a loss for words, I found myself without language.  They say the pen is mightier than the sword.  In my case, the pen was mightier than the spoken word.  With great struggle to define my own voice, I dove into Michael’s words as he traveled his CHOSEN path to bring love to the planet.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6VCEY2ExL8

SPEECHLESS, SPEECHLESS

THAT’S HOW YOU MAKE ME FEEL

WHEN I’M WITH YOU I AM FAR AWAY AND NOTHING IS FOR REAL

WHEN I’M WITH YOU I AM LOST FOR WORDS

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY

MY HEAD’S SPINNING LIKE A CAROUSEL, SO SILENTLY I PRAY. MJ

“I really believe that each person has a destiny from the day he’s born and certain people have a thing that they are meant to do. I’ve always joked that I didn’t ask to sing and dance, but it’s true.  When I open my mouth music comes out.  I’m honored that I have this ability.  I thank God for it every day.  I try to cultivate what He gave me.  I feel I’m compelled to do what I do.”  Moonwalkappearances

In her book, Never Can Say Goodbye The Katherine Jackson Story, Mrs. Jackson said, “I was especially proud of watching my son’s early development into stardom, because he did a lot of things that you wouldn’t expect a child his age to do.  For instance, at a mere six years old, Michael was able to pick up choreography quickly.  He was a natural.  He also surprised and impressed musical coaches with his ability to sing in harmony without any formal training. “

Hearing Michael speak of his art, his dreams, his amazing work ethic inspires me.  From an early age, he felt compelled to give every ounce of blood, sweat and God-given talent to the work.  NEVER GIVE UP!  NEVER GIVE IN!  But, along with that was another equally powerfur drive.mirror

“It’s been my dream since I was a child to somehow unite people of the world through love and music. It is important to reach people, to move them.  Sometimes one can do this with the mosaic of the music melody arrangement and lyrics, sometimes it is the intellectual content of the lyrics.  In the end, the most important thing is to be true to yourself and those you love and work hard.  I mean, work like there’s no tomorrow.  Train.  Strive.  I mean, really train and cultivate your talent to the highest degree.  Be the best at what you do.  Get to know more about your field than anybody alive.   Use the tools of your trade, if it’s books or a floor to dance on or a body of water to swim in.”  Moonwalk

When I began researching Michael Jackson, I thought about what I would want to happen if someone were writing about me, my life.  I would want and expect them to hear me and what I have to say about the events in my life. The retelling would be my voice.  That is the commitment I have made.  I absolutely knew I would not use media versions of reality.humble

On this chilly January morning, I am delighted that you are here with me.  We have been given a gift.  This journey we are on has many layers of truth…I have called them THEMES FOR LIFE.  Michael’s life offers us a philosophy for living that is inspired in every way by LOVE. 

I will close this morning with these thoughts…

“Don’t judge a person until you have talked with them one-on-one,”  MJ

The best dreams are when your eyes are wide open.” MJ

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

LOVE IS THE HUMAN FAMILY’S MOST PRECIOUS LEGACY, ITS RICHEST BEQUEST, ITS GOLDEN INHERITANCE THAT IS HANDED DOWN FROM ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER.” Taken from 2000 Oxford Union Address Heal the Kid Initiative Michael Jacksonproud

IT’S ALL FOR LOVE.  HAVE A HAPPY DAY.

JUDE

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