As a true-blue Michael Jackson fanatic, allow me to pay homage to the late great King of Pop in celebration of his birthday (August 29, 1958). MJ would have been 53 yesterday.
Among all my MJ memorabilia, I treasure his book “Dancing the Dream (Poems and Reflections by Michael Jackson)” the most. MJ dedicated the book to his mother, Katherine, and it has a foreword by his best friend, Elizabeth Taylor. It also contains 100 glossy photographs. The book is published by Doubleday in 1992 and reissued by Transworld in 2008 after MJ’s death.
It’s a rare and priceless find. I’ve read the book over and over again. It gains deeper significance each time. Every MJ diehard should have one. For a legend like MJ who was often judged and misunderstood, the book scratches beyond the surface and reveals treasures kept deep in MJ’s big and soft heart.
To give you a glimpse of MJ’s inner workings, here are some excerpts from “Dancing the Dream.”
On behalf of all the MJ fans, happy birthday to our forever idol! Thank you for being born and changing our world with your music. Brilliance is a gift you were born with and love is a gift you left us all with.
‘Dancing the dream’
Michael Jackson, in his own words:
“Consciousness expresses itself through creation. This world we live in is the dance of the creator. Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on.
“On many an occasion when I’m dancing, I’ve felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I’ve felt my spirit soar and become 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 vanquished. I become the master and the slave. I become the singer and the song.
“I become the knower and the known. I keep on dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation. The creator and creation merge into one wholeness of joy.
“I keep on dancing… and dancing, until there is only… the dance.”
Magical child
Once there was a child and he was free/Deep inside, he felt the laughter/The mirth and play of nature’s glee/He was not troubled by thoughts of hereafter/Beauty, love was all he’d see
He knew his power was the power of God/He was so sure, they considered him odd/This power of innocence, of compassion, of light/Threatened the priests and created a fright/In endless ways they sought to dismantle/This mysterious force which they could not handle
In endless ways they tried to destroy/His simple trust, his boundless joy/His invincible armor was a shield of bliss/Nothing could touch it, no venom, no hiss
The child remained in a state of grace/He wasn’t confined in time or place/In Technicolor dreams, he frolicked and played/While acting his part, in Eternity he stayed
Soothsayers came and fortunes were told/Some were vehement, others were bold/In denouncing this child, this perplexing creature/With the rest of the world he shared no feature/Is he real? He is so strange/His unpredictable nature knows no range/He puzzles us so, is he straight?/What’s his destiny? What’s his fate?
And while they whispered and conspired/Through endless rumors to get him tired/To kill his wonder, trample him near/Burn his courage, fuel his fear/The child remained just simple, sincere
All he wanted was the mountain high/Color the clouds, paint the sky/Beyond these boundaries, he wanted to fly/In nature’s scheme, never to die
Don’t stop this child, he’s the father of man/Don’t cross his way, he’s part of the plan/I am that Child, but so are you/You’ve just forgotten, just lost the clue
Inside your heart sits a Seer/Between his thoughts, he can hear/A melody simple but wondrously clear/The music of life, so precious, so dear
If you could for one moment know/This spark of creation, this exquisite glow/You would come and dance with me/Kindle this fire so we could see/All the children of the Earth/Weave their magic and give new birth/To a world of freedom with no pain/A world of joy, much more sane
Deep inside, you know it’s true/Just find that child, it’s hiding in you.
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