Tuesday, July 7, 2009

We Are the World: Thank You Michael Jackson

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I am sitting here, watching the
tribute to Michael Jackson.

One thing I heard was that Michael
told Kobe Bryant something to the
effect that he should never be
afraid to be unique/himself.

This coming from a man who was
often mocked and ridiculed, and
made fun of. It occurs to me that
Michael was a very courageous man -
he lived his truth.

Now I know that there are things
that people considered questionable
in Michael's life. I personally am
unable to speak to them. What I will
say, though, is that we make a
mistake (in my opinion) discounting
the greatness of someone because we're
too busy questioning their faults
and/or perceived character.

There are millions mourning Michael's
death. I would suspect that the
reason may be in part because of the
fact that behind everything, he was
human, just like the rest of us.

Just now Rev Al Sharpton said to
Michael's kids, "There was nothing
strange about your daddy, it was
strange what your daddy had to deal with."
It was met with a huge round of applause.

We all have a yearning to be ourselves...
the people we are truly meant to be. I
think at the core we can all relate to the
difficulty in doing that at times, especially
in an environment of judgment that has the
ability to stop self expression in its tracks.

It is apparent to me, watching all of these
tributes, that Michael was well loved,
appreciated, and respected by many, and
many types of people. If he had been
anything else, but true to who he was, the
reaction might have been different.

Michael was loved for being who he was, despite
what public judgments were. How often is the
outward judgment out of alignment with what
"truly" is?

What might we get from this experience for
ourselves?

I have a new appreciation of Michael's music and
the message today. He truly had a beautiful
message, and sadly, as with many messages,
we only hear them when we are ready.

I knew about "We Are the World," but didn't realize
(or remember?) that Michael was a co-writer. I
leave you with the words of the song:

There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must
come together as one

There are people dying
And it's time to
lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere
will soon make a change

We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know
love is all we need

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who
make a brighter day
So let's start giving

There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they know that someone cares
And their lives will be
stronger and free

As God has shown us by
turning stone to bread and
So we all must lend a helping hand

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who
make a brighter day
So let's start giving

There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we make a better day
Just you and me

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall

Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change can only come
When we stand together as one

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who
make a brighter day
So let's start giving

There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we make a better day
Just you and me

6 comments:

Luna said...

I love the sentiment !!
I was never into Micheal Jackson
I did like the Jackson 5 when I was realy little but he touched so many people with his music and I have no judgement to pass...it is not my place. Seeing how many people came to say goodbye to him it is impossible to think a bad thought.
Thanks

Ann Fry, Head Boomer said...

What a great post. I, like you, am dedicated to helping people tap into their own passion and be who they are meant to be. MJ epitomized that. Yes, he had strange moments ... but I always thought he was brutalized by the press and that he wasn't who they thought.

Today was a beautiful tribute and I'm still tearful about it.

Thanks for sharing here.

Elizabeth Alraune said...

Luna & Ann,

I can't say that I was ever a fan of Michael's, or the Jackson 5, however my appreciation is growing now with a greater awareness of his work.

I am sad that it took his death for that to happen.

I know a few people who had judgments of him from what the media said who now feel badly for what they thought.

As always, there's always more conversation to have...Thanks for stopping by and leaving your contribution to the conversation.

Suejstu said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Suejstu said...

Well said. I too was not a huge Michael Jackson fan. I do feel that he, and other famous people, sometimes get a bad rap because of the media. I surely would not want my every mistake broadcast around the world. That would not be a pretty sight. Think of all the good he did.

Elizabeth Alraune said...

Suejstu,

I agree with you. I was thinking about that recently. None of us are immune to making questionable choices. Celebrities just get theirs broadcast 24/7 by the media, and often their mistakes can have lifetimes that last longer than they do.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and to comment.