Many inspiring stories have been told and written about Michael Jackson since his death--stories beyond the legend who never lived up to fans and the world's expectations and who left us with shadows and questions that may never be answered.

Perhaps, those questions should never be answered, because his life was not our business, and his evolutionary path was beyond our understanding.  How could we ever hope to know his psyche--when we know so little about our own?
 

What we can know is what he wanted for us, what he did for us, and what he left us:  a legacy of incredible music and performance art that literally shakes our world and selves awake.  I know that he made me vibrate.  I played his music as keyboardist in a cabaret band performing in clubs and casinos in the 80's, and I remember  I always felt breathless, awakened  and vibrating-- inspired in a mystical way after performing him.  Knowing him that way.  Through his gifts. Through his poetry:

"You and I must make a pact,
we must bring salvation back
Where there is love, I'll be there
I'll reach out my hand to you
I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name and I'll be there"

                         *******

"We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So lets start giving
Theres a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

What about the part of him we couldn't see?   The part discovered so tragically, who was the "best father" a little girl could have,  the child-man who loved with the sensitive purity of the "Little Prince," and  the man who gave help and money and what he could to causes, wherever he could, and whenever he was asked--without seeking  acknowledgement.

This is a man worthy to admire and cherish as long as the incredible gifts given by artists and those with generosity of spirit lift us out of the mundane, the numbing routines, or the daunting challenges and tragedies of our own personal histories.

Michael Jackson always reminded me that we, too, can be more. We are the children that can and must change the world. To me, the man was and is the message of his art.  And his message will live on. . . .
 

Commentary by Sharon Hart,
ATMA NEWS Editor