Michael Jackson Remembered: Human Nature

It still seems a bit surreal. It's been four days now and I know I'm not the only one who keeps waking up thinking that it just can't be. Music must be heartbroken. An incision through the vessels of what made Music most alive must have been performed last Thursday because the center of its creative existence stopped beating. Michael was supposed to be invincible and music must have thought that physically Michael would always be there because sometimes it seemed that Music wasn't as appreciative to Michael as Music should have been. Somehow i think we all believed he was a magician like many are saying. "He made me believe in magic, " said Sean "Diddy" Combs. As his fans we were supposed to experience his triumphant return on stage with his new tour. He was Michael. The greatest entertainer we had ever seen. I mean... we grew up with Michael. He was the conductor to the soundtrack of our lives. We danced to his music at any given time. It was Michael's songs that invigorated an adrenaline rush in our hearts. It was Michael's music that made us love each other because he was "a lover not a fighter," he once assured. "I just can't stop loving you, he forcefully pleaded--- with the accompaniment of Sayeda Garret. "And if i stop {oh no!} then tell me just what will I do cause... i just can't stop loving you." Michael never stopped loving music. He made music popular and therefore his genre was nicknamed pop music for short. Those tracks and memorable layers of his soothing inviting voice made us happy. Each song somehow is attached to a paragraph in our lives. Wherever he was and whatever he created on each album became a piece of us. We somehow became a part of his magic in fact. We believed in his promises through his lyrics and trustful vocals even with all their complexities and ups and downs. "Hold me like the river Jordan and i will then say to thee you were my friend..." he promised. And within the next verse he said, "I'm so confused that you showed me you'll be there for me. Hold me lay your head slowly. Softly then boldly carry me there ..Kiss me and free me I will feel blessed ." He needed to feel the love of his fans all the time but was not addicted to fame. He needed to feel Music's love all the time. Deepak Chopra had said Michael feared pain. He was afraid of it once he had felt it. Pain is not really an adjective of love and Michael centered his life, art and entire being in love. He had confessed to Oprah Winfrey about pain but once he was on stage Michael didn't know that it even existed. He existed in his artistry and said he was most comfortable when he was on stage serving his fans with the notes, choreography and excitement that they needed to have in order to feel the same bliss he felt. Despite being timid with a boyish shyness he managed to become seduced by supermodels Iman and Naomi Campbell all while not clearly explaining the story of Billie Jean only remembering the "strong advice" of his mother and people saying, "be careful who you love." Nonetheless he still sang, " I wanna rock with you and later held his own with Chris Tucker as he pursued love once again, singing "You rocked my world, yes you did and everything I own I'll give." Love was always the priority with Michael. He gave it to all and he got it back because he loved. It is such a simple equation to life. It is the mathematics of completion. The exchange of love was both complimentary and supplementary in the sense that it supplemented any void. Michael was as fulfilling to Music as it was fulfilling to him. He did it for love and the ones who loved him. It is very rare that you find entertainers of any sort who understand that their full focus at all times should be on those who have accelerated them to the top and not their critics. Michael was the King but also a servant to his fans. He didn't stray away from the path that made him. I think he got it. That's why in every geographic corner they are celebrating his music and life. Beat It, Director, Bob Giraldi said, "He was very peaceful, gentle and quiet. So many stars have a way of taking it out on everybody but not Michael." "He was the greatest entertainer in the world yet so humble and shy," pondered Ronald Reagen. Quincy Jones had said, "Michael was what humility is. You must approach creativity with humility and success with grace or you'll be in trouble! You must become a terminal for a higher power, " explained Jones. Michael was understanding of that. Even when it seemed that Music had separated from pop to embrace hip hop or rap part of Michael's pop was still present. He had greater street credibility then the hardest of rappers because he's the only one who physically united two of the most viscous gangs for a video without fear. He proved that dance and music is a peaceful gesture that could warm up the coldest of hearts. No one has done that still. So "Whose Bad?" he challenged. He was less interested in the repetitive drama created from hate and more invested in all the good things peace and love bear. "Just beat it," he sang. " Beat it. No one wants to be defeated, Showing how funky strong is your fight...Just beat It," he ordered in the Quincy Jones-produced hit. It seemed that he was disinterested in nonsense and had a greater purpose for his life. His gift was so incomparable that he set a precedence for excellence. His influence will always live. His artistry was adopted by a younger generation that infused his gift in their own. Usher, Neyo, Justin Timberlake and many more credit Jackson with their success. Michael himself credited James Brown with his...never comparing himself to his own idol but rather respecting what he learned from him and giving the Godfather of Soul all his credit during a BET award performance. It must have been all his wonderful attributes that made him loved by generations around the world. His music made him a star but his love made him an icon. He was one of the most visible humanitarians we have seen. "Heal the world make this a better place," he wrote. He analyzed the ills of humanity and how we fall short of our intended obligation but not without saying, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways." He didn't ask people to do what he knew he could not do himself- the hypocrisy was non-existent. He was not arrogant, conceited or mean. "I feel like it's my moral obligation to be kind," he had once said. "If they say why, why , why, tell them that it's human nature, " he sang. He told CBS that, he "intended to escape death by binding himself to his soul." So as we all know for those who believe in faith there is an afterlife. Michael with his soul is still here. He lives through his children, his family, his music and his fans. As in the case of those who love us and are not physically here, we are always protected from harm and our enemy. Our loved ones who we can not see take care of the things we can not because our flesh is not as strong as the spiritual. They really do. They fight our battles. They guide us. Their spirit never dies, that is part of human nature. They never let us down and never stop fighting for us each and every day. This I know with every conviction in my body, mind and soul. It is a blessing in disguise even when it is the hardest thing to accept. So now we are slowly becoming more accepting that even the King is gone but lives forever...."where there is love, I'll be there."-MJ