A Gift For Michael

He would have been 56 years old today. You can imagine, what would Michael have been doing for his birthday? We’ll never know, but we know that he would have been here with his children, Prince, Paris and Blanket. They would have been celebrating, happily, with their father.

But just because Michael is gone, it’s never meant the celebrations for this day need stop. Every year without fail, fans have done so much and never forgotten to pay tribute to him on two separate occasions… The day of his death and the day of his birth. Flowers are laid down, songs are played and memories flourish, whatever they may be.

I think and I imagine, what would Michael love for his birthday? He’s not here to receive this gift, but I like to think he watches and knows what gift we can give to him. 365 days are in a year, and each one of those days, even in his darkest times of despair, he thought of the welfare of others.

His wish was for us to stop and think a little for those who suffer and have nothing – no families, no friends, no homes, not even clothes. Adults and especially children, who have little to no hope in their lives. We have rainforests torn down, oceans polluted and cities bombed to the ground. Everyday of every hour of every minute, somebody suffers. Homes are destroyed and lives are taken. From the streets you walk, to the land around you and far beyond the seas, there are people suffering.

Can we help improve conditions? Of course we can. There’s no good in sitting and hoping somebody else fixes the problem for us, because it’ll forever remain a constant thing.

Like Michael said, he couldn’t heal the world,  but he could help. Can we heal the world?

Soldier No.9

My honest answer?  I’m not sure. I don’t know if the world can be healed, especially with everything that’s going on. Conflicts seem to be everywhere these days over such petty reasons. Innocent people suffer and die over what, exactly?

Can anybody give me a good answer why there are wars raging and innocent adults and children must constantly get caught in the crossfire? Have we learnt NOTHING since 1914, the time of the first World War? No, obviously, we haven’t.

Humanity is still that same destructive force as it was back then and it’ll never cease within us, unfortunately and tragically.  Through this deadliest and most evil trait we have, everyday on the news we’re seeing tears of innocent victims. From the oldest citizen, to the youngest child, we see them crying in pain and fleeing in terror from our weapons firing over and at them. There are no heroes or villains in this, only victims. I hope at the end of the day, those who caused the deaths of the innocent, can pat themselves on the back for a job well done…a job that their children and grandchildren or great grandchildren will only be fighting all over again in the next several years.

War and conflict benefits nobody or nothing. It causes pain and death. Why can’t we just leave the world alone and allow it a chance to heal? The hunger for power creates conflict and that fact will never change. So, because of that, broken pieces will be forever picked up by those whose lives have been shattered. Families lose their homes, children lose their parents and parents lose their children.

NOTHING can excuse what we’re doing to the world and those who have to live in it.

And this brings me to my idea. A present for Michael. In whatever way you think can do it, whatever way you’re capable, let’s do something that honours what he stood for – Helping others.

If you can think of anybody that needs help in anyway on August 29th, then you do it. I don’t want to come of to anybody as sounding preachy and saying this is what you should be doing, I’m not going to convince or guilt trip anybody. But what I’ve learned and discovered is, we are capable of making a difference to the world. Michael had no hope left, as he said. When you have no hope, you can easily throw in the towel and wash your hands of everything. He had no hope left in us, and he spent so much of his life believing in the best of us to carry out his dream, and that was to help make the world a better place. But who can blame him and so many of us who have no hope left, through not even a quarter of what I described above?

Who do we have to look up to? Leaders of Countries killing one another’s home and people? Celebrities more interested in money, partying, sex and drugs, propelled by a soul corrupting, media, money making machine and influencing impressionable children? Our children are the one last strand of hope that Michael had left to hold onto. He believed, right up until he passed, that our children would grow up to right the wrongs that we’re causing. Can our children stop the wars and senseless killings, fan the flames spreading across our jungles and forests and plug the waste polluting our seas? Maybe, they can. But we’ll never know unless we stop and think about what they’re being brought up around. What can we do to help them, help make this world better?  Have a think about it. Because something, no matter how big or small, helps make a difference.

We CAN help and make a difference.

I have 2 girls to look after in my relationship. I don’t want them to grow up in a world where we do nothing and yet, we actually CAN. I don’t want those girls influenced by the wrong things that plague us, all thanks to a bunch of celebrities who possess a lack of morals and a system that pushes them in front of our children’s eyes and world leaders who have no clue how to settle things other than with bloodshed. I don’t intend to sit back and do nothing.

We’re not Michael Jackson, though. We don’t have his power,  money or influence to create a big enough pedestal so our voices can be heard…even though Michael’s voice and message was heavily distorted by corrupt forces, who I assume work for the Devil.

But we must never forget his true voice and purest message – help our world and our children and we CAN possess that spirit, too.

Even just for his birthday, one day. Is that too much?

So, if you can, do something to help somebody out there. Whether it’s with your helping hand, or with a credit card. Do anything you can to help make a tiny difference in some poor soul’s life. If you have children, if you can, spend as much time of the day you have with them. Treat them to a little something and put them on that right path. Let somebody, anybody, whether it’s a stranger or a friend or a family member, let them know you love them. Because the world is seriously lacking this at the moment.

That’s not just a gift for Michael, it’s a gift for you and anybody blessed enough to receive it. That’s what he wanted from us. So, if you believe in Michael’s dream, and I’m sure you do, then do this for him. Whether you can help somebody or not on August 29th, just let someone know you’re there and you care about them. If we can do this for one day, then that’s great. But, if we can maintain it for the best part of 365 days, like Michael did, then maybe there is hope for us? Baby steps, I know. But we can get there if we truly want to. We CAN make a change.

Let his dream and wishes for us, our children and our planet, be our mission to achieve, since he no longer can.

Our gift for you, Michael, will be what you tried to give us all your life – Love and a better world.

So, happy Birthday, Michael Jackson and thank you for the lessons you taught us through your words of wisdom and your songs that moved us in so many ways.

Thank you for the heart and spirit you inspired so many of us with. We love you more and always will.