During the month of June, we commemorate the life of the phenomenon known to the world as Michael Jackson. We, his followers, find ourselves often immersed in sadness at his physical absence, shock at the world’s continued misunderstanding of the man we revere and misrepresentation of his generosity and genuine care for the disadvantaged and oppressed as sinister, and confusion as we so frequently feel his presence in various ways in our daily lives. We ask ourselves, “Why did he have to live with so much pain and sorrow?” and “How could everyone not see what is so clear?” And with undying gratitude, we pray that his energy will continue to be felt in our hearts and in our planet.
And most of us didn’t even know the man … had never had the opportunity to speak a private word with him or to ask him for one of those famous hugs.
During the next couple of weeks, we at Call for Love are remembering his family … his mother, Mrs. Katherine Jackson, for whom his absence is a wound that has to violate the integrity of her own soul … after all, she is his mother still and that bond can never be broken. We remember his children, Prince Michael I, Paris Michael Katherine and Prince Michael II (Blanket) … his brothers and sisters … his nieces, nephews, cousins … and yes, even, his father, Joe Jackson.
To these, Michael was not an impersonal megastar of unchallenged ability, prancing across the stage of our world. He was the one who suspended buckets of water over hotel room doors to drench their chief of security unexpectedly while touring. To these, he was the beautiful toddler, dancing to the rhythm of the rickety old washing machine as it spun its cycle and rushing into her arms to be comforted. To these, he was the prankster who made up silly nicknames for all of his siblings, cousins, nephews and friends. To these, he was the doting father who taught them how to tie their shoes and buttoned their sweaters on cool days, brushed their hair, heard their prayers and kissed their foreheads as they lay down to sleep. To these, he was joy and irritation sprinkled with liberal doses of love.
As his brother, Marlon, responded to a request to describe each of his siblings in five words or less by an interviewer, he was a ‘blessing.’ For each of the other siblings, his response had been an earthbound catch phrase like ‘ladies man’ or ‘joker’ or ‘serious’ or ‘mechanic’ as each name was called. However, he used just one word to describe his brother, Michael, and that word was anything but earthbound … a ‘blessing.’
Whether we followed Michel Jackson’s career from the early years or were awakened as he departed from our physical Earth, we’ve all been blessed by this ‘blessing’… perhaps, none more so than his family and close, personal friends.
So, for Michael Jackson’s family … those who were closest to him and knew him as a ‘blessing’ even in the midst of the petty annoyance he must have caused with his fifty years of mischievousness during his physical incarnation, let’s all take a moment during these next couple of weeks, as we approach the second anniversary of his re-birth, to lift them up in our daily prayers.
Let’s pray that each of them … in his or her own individual way … feels his presence … knows his continuing love for them because love does, indeed, ‘live forever’ … hears his voice resounding in their hearts at moments when advice or comfort is needed … understands and experiences in an intimate assurance that he hasn’t left them alone in quiet moments of reflection or in dreams … and finds some small comfort in the midst of devastating loss.
Let’s find ways of reassuring them of our continued presence in physical ways … like flowers or gifts at Forest Lawn or letters and cards delivered to their home. In this, let’s pray that they will feel their son’s … brother’s … father’s … uncle’s continuing care for them … that they are not alone, for we are here with them.
by Jan Carlson
Copyright (c) 2011
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