Epithet

~A title is earned but a name is given~

Prince Jackson

“The greater and more beautiful the work is, the more terrible will be the storms that rage against it.”

St. Faustina

~They are not your friends until they have defended you in your absence~ 

The Bully Project

“Thinking is the process of asking and answering questions of yourself.  If you want something better in life, a better answer to life…ask better questions.”

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson’s story is meant to be unfinished so that we can keep reaching.  It may be an answer to the question:  Is it better to journey than to arrive?  If service is the rent we pay for living, Michael’s persistent payments command us to find our humanity against all resistance, with due diligence, as we live in what many would say is a culture of fear.  Led by someone greater than us, with the capacity to bring love and compassion into our lives, changing mindsets into what is possible, we come together to move barriers into meeting points.  Hope is learned.  It is a call for a wake up.  Joseph Vogel described Michael’s artistry as substantive lyrics becoming so much more in the delivery.  It is a rallying cry to action.  People care about Michael’s music and dance, seeing Michael inside of it, responding from deep within his body.  Social justice problems laid out in verse, solutions found in the choruses…questions asked and then answered by a community of voices, powerful as one.  Jeremiad:  a lamentation, mournful complaint. 

Here to express his inner being with an infinite power of light, Michael was never his own obstacle, never owned by the environment he found himself in, but rather owning the phenomenal world around him…creative in every moment of it.  A modern day prophet, a spokesperson predicting what is to come.  In our world today, those who seem surprised by the idea of fake news and alternative facts, accepted the code or set of principles that contained different provisions for Michael throughout his lifetime.  And, although appalled by current events, remain willing to continue the double standard where Michael Jackson is concerned.  A study of Michael’s life reveals the turning point in the decline of ethics and values that once held journalists to a higher standard.  The adage ~Nothing loses my interest faster than someone lying  to me~ has caught up with a media that now seeks to regain its credibility.  They seek the connection which is an energy between people.  Respect is earned, not given.  After decades of losing all respect…a comeback to a principled press is unlikely.  ~The arc of the moral universe is long and bends toward justice~ 

~Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning I give it~

Michael Jackson

We who PAY MICHAEL FORWARD have learned that the quicker fake news is refuted, the quicker it dies.  Michael  has taught us that we are all the right person, at the right time, for the right issue…the time is always NOW, allowing no roadblocks built out of media myth to get in the way, never looking for a safe option.

“He is the strongest person I know, and he tried to do everything with as much love and kindness as possible.  All my inspiration, I would say 99%of my inspiration comes from him, because he has always been my world.  He is my roots.”

Paris Jackson

Nobody knew his secret ambition

Nobody knew his claim to fame

He broke the old rules steeped in tradition

He tore the holy veil away

Questioning those in powerful positions

Running to those who called his name

But nobody knew his secret ambition

Was to give his life away

M.W. Smith

Secret Ambition

~Even if no one recognizes you…I do, because you are my life and my soul~  Rumi

Vital voices come together each day with the mantra:  I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.  I am changing the things I cannot accept.  (Women’s Movement 2017)  No longer will we accept the media mantra:  We are about conclusions in search of evidence.  We stand with Malala Yousafzai when she says:  Do not wait for someone else to come and speak for you.  It’s you who can change the world.

~Those who live passionately teach us how to love~

~Those who love passionately teach us how to live~

Sarah Ban Breathnach

Michael has shown us over and over again that we were not born for ourselves.  Connection affects the way our brain develops and performs.  We are part of something bigger.  Michael’s storytelling gave definition to how we all live.  Resisting captivity, we seek a better world.  As within, so without.  A superficial look at Michael Jackson might provide the Epithet KING OF POP.  And, although that is true, it is only the beginning.  Looking deeper, the definition expands to take in a universe of meanings.  A title is earned…a name is given. 

“And the end of all of our exploring will be to return to the place where we began, and know it for the first time.”

T.S. Eliot

We revisit Michael’s artistry to renew our strength, to empower our hopefulness, to refocus on what is vital.  With each visit, we find added layers that ignite a richer experience.  Our connection to Michael and to one another is grounded in love and compassion.  From Michael’s Scared of the Moon, we understand that sharing stories and experiences improves our physical and mental health. (Professor James Pennebaker University of Texas)  In turning human struggles into great art, Michael defined Carl Jung’s words when he said:  I am not what has happened to me.  I am what I choose to become.  Owning our stories allows us to write the endings.  Disconnection doesn’t protect the human spirit.  Not only was Michael capable of being wounded, his vulnerability has been a birthplace of love and belonging, joy and courage.  We have learned to join hands, pulling together for the greater good.  Unlike those who spew unclaimed rumor…we believe…If you are not comfortable owning it, don’t say it.  From the greatest dreamer we have ever known…we have learned how to dream.  For if it ends now, it is just a frozen dream.  (E.J.Walker)  We will never allow that to happen.

Michael  has  told us…I can’t do this by myself…gonna take somebody’s help.  Rising collectively, in the company of Kindred Hearts, with a sense of great privilege and humility, honored beyond words, we continue an unfinished story.  Our hope is that our best work has not yet been realized.

~LET US DREAM OF TOMORROW WHERE WE CAN TRULY LOVE FROM THE SOUL, AND KNOW LOVE AS THE ULTIMATE TRUTH AT THE HEART OF ALL CREATION!

MICHAEL

~Keep on reaching~

~Do it for me~

Jude