It's no secret that Michael Jackson's life was marred by controversy and accusations, particularly over the past fifteen or so years. However, looking back over his life at this time of his passing and reflecting on what it was about him that made him so special and gave him that star quality that stood the test of time gives me permission to pan for the gold in the stuff of Michael Jackson's life.
I have been reading lots of tributes to MJ over the weekend. I admit that I, too, had distanced myself from MJ and stopped listening to his music because of what I thought of his lifestyle and troubles. However, as I took all of the tributes, videos, sounds and images in over the past few days I felt myself reconnect with the magic that is Michael Jackson. Even more telling, I witnessed people who I know didn't have the time of day for him slowly come to the conclusion that, "the guy was a genius and if he could have just kept it together past age 35 he'd still be going strong at the top of the charts."
Michael Jackson had a smile that lit the place up. That smile was symbolic of the spirit within him. He had a child-like presence his entire life.
One musical biographer spoke of how most musical personalities only shine for about a five year span, and few make it much beyond that in terms of real fame and success. Michael Jackson's fame spanned nearly 40 years and will outlive him for a long time, no doubt.
When asked how he writes songs, MJ himself said that if he sits at a piano and tells himself he's going to write a song he can put in effort all day long and come up with drivel. He explained that the magic happens when he is taking a walk, in the shower, playing with friends, or doing something else. It's inspiration. Then the songs come faster than he can write them down. He said he had to immediately stop what he was doing and run upstairs to write it all out, the lyrics, the music, the arrangements, what every instrument is doing, the rhythms, it was all in his head in a sudden fleeting moment of inspiration that he followed every time.
Somehow, Michael Jackson knew that to "try" to do anything only made it difficult, but to let inspiration come from his inner being through a divine window would be effortless and create genius quality work. It was that knowledge that gave him the greater than life, magic persona. That was his brand. He did what felt best at the moment and let authenticity run through him.
Oh, how I'd love to have one last interview with Michael Jackson to ask him how he learned to tap into Source and let his passion flow. It may not be popular, but I'd even ask him about his odd behaviors and choices and whether they were somehow inspired by his desire to be closer to his own authentic self and to God. I would ask him what his most pivotal spiritual lessons have been and how they influenced his music and his brand. I would ask him about the evident paradox between this spiritual connectedness and his apparent difficulty reconciling his physical image with his spiritual one, and the one between his physical appearance with the body that danced for him all those years. Most of all, I'd ask him for his wisdom on how to tap into our own inner-genius and flow our own brand of magic, no matter what it is that we are passionate about.
Left to imagine his answers, I wonder if simply taking his statement about inspiration and using it as confirmation that what I'm doing is taking me down the right path is the way to look at it. I have experienced that letting the ideas flow and then acting on them with passion when they do come is much more productive than forcing productivity.
I'd be interested to hear your experiences along the same lines. What have your greatest inspirations been and when have they come to you?
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