Michael Jackson’s music and musings add to his mystique

If you enter the world
knowing that we are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.
Michael Jackson
Singer

On behalf of all Michael Jackson fanatics, allow me to pay tribute to our all-time idol in commemoration of his eighth death anniversary on June 25.

During these chaotic times, may MJ’s anthems, “Heal the World” and “We are the World,” soothe us. Listening to those songs could serve as a “group hug” for our war-torn world.

Since I have an extensive collection of MJ memorabilia at home, my son IC (Mendoza) tells his friends in jest, you can’t enter our place unless you make an offering to mom’s “MJ altar.”

Watching MJ’s concert in Singapore many years ago with some of my friends in the biz—like Aga Muhlach, Richard Gomez, Joey de Leon and Aiza Seguerra—was one experience I always replay in my mind. In MJ’s Manila concert, IC got lucky. He was one of the kids in the “Heal the World” number and, at one point, MJ held IC’s hand! I wish I could have traded places with my son.

The King of Pop left without saying goodbye. But, for legends like him, there’s really no farewell. His presence will forever be felt through his timeless music. Michael has moonwalked into our hearts and left his footprints in them.

Here are some MJ quotes:

“If you enter the world knowing that we are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.”

“Who wants mortality? We all want immortality. The creator goes, but the creation remains. That’s why I bind myself to my work, so I will live on with it.”

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

“The greatest education in the world is watching the masters at work.”

“Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons.”

“People write negative things because they feel that’s what sells. Good news to them doesn’t sell.”

“Nobody should judge what I’ve done with my life. Not unless they’ve been in my shoes every horrible day and every sleepless night.”

“In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. In a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.”

“I was a veteran before I was a teenager.”

“Sometimes, I really want to ask, ‘What happened to the truth? Is it out of fashion?’”

“I’m interested in making a path, instead of following a trail in everything I do.”

“Don’t say that God gave me more ‘gifts’ than you. He brought us together to share those gifts with each other and create something beautiful.”

“If you don’t aim for something, you’ll never know whether you could have hit the mark.”

“My goal in life is to give to the world what I was lucky to receive—the ecstasy of Divine Union through music and dance.”

“We’re powerful, but we don’t use our minds to full capacity. Your mind is powerful enough to help you attain whatever you want.”

“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, then make a change.”