I’M INTERESTED IN MAKING A PATH INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING A TRAIL AND THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO IN LIFE—IN EVERYTHING I DO.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_VmQzVF-CI

Michael Jackson    Man in the Music    Joseph Vogel    2011

“The idea is to take it a step forward and to innovate or else why am I doing it.  I don’t just want to be another can in the assembly line.  I want to create and do something that’s totally different and unusual.”  MTV Interview 1999

“I LOVE TO CREATE…TO MAKE MAGIC…TO DO THE UNEXPECTED.” MJ

     I’m not completely sure who decided that growing up meant growing old.  Who was it who gave the order to stop play, get serious and turn cynical.  To the world’s great good fortune, Michael Jackson was chosen for a different path.  Of his many gifts, love and an innocent spirit informed every fiber of his being.  Some confused  this spirit with weakness or naivete.  But, make no mistake, Michael was neither of these.  Those with limited knowledge interpreted these qualities as childish, a boy who never grew up.  But, when time is taken to really know the man, limited low-ceiling imaginations cannot bring truth.

“I hear the whole entire song and arrangements in my head.  What each instrument is suppose to do.  I put them down orally on tape, then, I go out and find that instrument.  I don’t give up until I get exactly what I want.  I sing every part with my mouth.” MJ Michael Album

“Michael would express to me the importance of giving the world a gift.  Giving them songs that would last forever.  He wanted to revisit, nurture and define because MJ was a perfectionist at everything and nothing is ever done until he is smiling and dancing.  It was like watching a flower grow and blossom in the spring. When the expressed sound of his imagination felt right he would look at me with a calm smile and say, ‘It’s nice, isn’t it!'” Michael Album 2010 The Estatehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmU2rEcSHz8

Innocence of spirit, looking at the world unencumbered by color, race, religion, borders or boundaries freed Michael’s imagination.  His imagination knew no limits. “When Michael was given his imagination, they broke the mold.” Quincy Jones. Present every day of his life, the magic, wonder and mystery of life informed themes.  They are found in every facet of Michael’s creativity, his body of work, his humanitarian efforts.  These pervasive themes received their life’s blood from the values Michael lived out on the world stage.  He shared them all with millions.  In a career spanning 45 years, great and sustained energy produced the thread of themes to the tenth power.

To get closer to an understanding of who Michael Jackson is, one fact becomes clear…in a world filled with lies, Michael is the truth.  His character, personality, persona, whether before thousands or in private, remains the same, having roots deep inside his values and a belief in the power of the people.  All have their basis in a strong belief in God. 

“Sometimes you feel like something’s coming, a gestation, almost like a pregnancy.  You get emotional and you start to feel something gestating and, MAGIC, there it is!  An explosion of something that’s so beautiful, you go, WOW!  There it is!  That’s how it works through you.  It’s a beautiful thing.  It’s a universe where you can go with those 12 notes.” MJ Ebony Interview 2007 

“Michael’s popularity appealed to the very young, the very old and everyone in between…blacks, whites.  And, that only happens once in a lifetime.” Dick Clark The One 2003

The whole idea of magic, of things that hold a mystery about them, has always intrigued me.  A creative life is key to a happy life.  Those golden gems of wonder that were so easily understood in childhood.  Pictures drawn where the sky didn’t have to be colored blue, water could be painted in shades of yellow, THINKING OUT OF THE BOX…no boundaries.  Freeing imagination is personal, emotional.  “Michael was a performer who could share his innermost feelings with millions.” Gregory Peck.  It leads to thinking that heals wounded souls.  For some, it is unsettling…if it can’t be proved, it cannot be true. Imagination that holds no boundaries inspires new paths, breaks new ground and is visionary.  Unlimited imagination leading to pioneering visions is GENIUS.  “Today’s cutting edge is tomorrow’s classic.” MJ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EFkqn2TwIw

“I don’t force it.  I let nature take its course.  I don’t sit at the piano and think I’m going to write the greatest song of all time.  It doesn’t happen.  It has to be given to you.  I believe it’s already up there before you are born.  And then, it drops into your lap.  It’s the most spiritual thing in the world.  When it comes, it comes with all the accompaniments, the strings, the bass, the drums, the lyrics and you’re just the medium through which it comes, the channel.  Sometimes I feel guilty putting my name on songs…because it’s as if the heavens have done it already. ” MJ

“Michael’s approach is very dramatic!  Very concise.  When he commits to an idea he goes all the way with it.  He has the presence of mind to feel something, conceive it and then bring it to life.  It’s a long way from idea to execution. Everybody wants to go to heaven and nobody wants to die.  It’s ass power, man.  You have to be emotionally ready to put as much energy into it as it takes to make it right.” Quincy Jones

     And so, I walk my creative path today, inspired by one who said, “If the whole world says, ‘NO!’ you say, ‘YES!’ MJ  I am delighted that you have read all the way to this point in my story.  Without boundaries of color, race, religion or national borders, let’s use our imaginations to live this dream…IT’S ALL FOR LOVE. 

JUDE

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