Michael Jackson’s Unfinished Dream
My mention of Michael Jackson on my Facebook status surprised many, especially when I invited them to pray for him. Within minutes dozens of friends commented on my status, most of them fans. More personal messages were left in my mailbox or sent directly via email, and these were messages from my annoying friends: “What do you have to do with Michael Jackson, a child molester, blah blah blah?”
This is a very important question, a huge question, as it can be rephrased in countless ways. What do I have to do with you? What do I have to do with the editor of this article? What do I have to do with President Obama?
Or, what do I, or you, have to do with this world? Perhaps the best answer is: “Because I live in this world.” This is the point. The fact that you and I live in this world connects us with all the other citizens of the world.
I remember the great Sufi mystic poet Saadi: “Human beings are members of a whole, in the creation of an essence and a soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, other members will remain restless. If you have no sympathy for human pain , the human name cannot be withheld. “
But human pain and suffering cannot connect me with my fellow men, if I don’t have some kind of “feeling” for them. I have an emotional bond with my family members, so I can easily feel their pain. But, he may not have that bond with you, and therefore may not feel the same about you, your pain, and your suffering.
Not so with Michael Jackson, he could feel the pain of a suffering humanity. Raised and donated millions of dollars for humanitarian causes. He was not forced to do what he did. In fact, there are people much richer than him who did nothing to alleviate the suffering.
Michael Jackson differs from them by his “feelings.” We can still hear the echo of his compassion through his songs and writings, like this passage from his album “Dangerous”:
“Consciousness expresses itself through creation. This world we live in is the dance of the creator. Dancers come and go in the blink of an eye, but the dance lives on.
“On many occasions, when I am dancing, I have felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and I became one with everything that exists.
“I become the stars and the moon. I become the lover and the beloved. I become the victor and the loser. I become the master and the slave. I become the singer and the song. I become the knower and acquaintance.
“I keep dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation. The creator and creation merge into a totality of joy. I keep dancing … until there is only … the dance.”
These feelings are really very “dangerous”, because then you will no longer be able to close your eyes to what is happening around you. Michael was in a very vulnerable condition, even before writing such thoughts, he was already singing: “We are the world … the world must come together as one … It is time to lend a hand to life.”
He felt connected to the world not only physically, but also spiritually. He did not stop to acknowledge and acknowledge people’s pain and suffering; I wanted to make a change.
In “Man in the Mirror”, he actually saw the reflection of his soul and sang with added fervor: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.” It was advice that was not given to you or me, but to himself: “I am going to make a change, for once in my life it will feel really good, it will make a difference, I will fix it …”
Realizing that he had “been the victim of a selfish kind of love”, he became even more obsessed with the idea of spreading the right kind of love to heal himself and “Heal the world” to “make it a better place” . for you and me. “I dreamed of a world where” Black or White “didn’t matter at all, or mattered equally.
In “The Song of the Earth” he cried with Mother Earth: “What have we done to the world, look what we have done to it”. Frustrated with all the events around him, he continued: “I used to dream, I used to look beyond the stars; now I don’t know where we are, even though I know we’ve gotten far away.”
In the late 1970s, I had the rare opportunity to meet the philosopher J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986). He also suffered from a similar frustration. Later, in a documentary made about his life, those close to him during his last days spoke of their frustration.
Both the philosopher J. Krishnamurti and the artist Michael Jackson spoke of change, of the maximum freedom from slavery, of the old and rotten paradigms. And, as Mahatma Gandhi aptly put it, they both realized the need to “be the change” they wanted to see in the world. However, both died in frustration, as did the Mahatma. Gandhi, who could not accept the idea of the division of India based on religion.
J. Krishnamurti let out his frustrations through his writings and discussions with the people around him. Gandhi let out his frustrations by retiring from political life and returning to his commune in Gujarat. Michael Jackson, the star, let out his frustrations by experimenting with his body. He turned his body into a laboratory.
From a strict diet to various plastic surgery operations and his involvement in unpopular “companies”, his love and sex life, they can be seen as manifestations of his innermost desire to change. The change was both his dream and his obsession. When he “felt” that he failed to bring about change, or at least it was not the kind of change he wanted, he withdrew and shut himself up in the outside world. This was a serious mistake. In doing so, he closed all outlets to let go of his frustrations. And he died a lonely man.
However, a man, a star like Michael Jackson is too big to die. In fact, it is too bright a star to fall. It will shine for many, many years. His legacy of songs, his unfulfilled dream of the world to come, and his obsession with change will be remembered for generations to come. Michael’s dream will live on, because his dream is not the dream of a loner, his dream is the dream of all those who are capable of dreaming something great.
Jackson, we share your frustration and we will turn this into a source of energy to make your dream come true, “to make a better world for you and me.” I will not say goodbye to you, my friend, because in your dream our meeting continues …