A World Without Michael Jackson

(Note: this entry appears on all the Tim Girton blogs)

It's taken me this long to blog about the death of Michael Jackson because I wanted to gather my thoughts before I went off half-cocked and unbalanced.

From the top, I was a fan of his music. I grew up with it. While a lot of kids wanted to be Michael, I worried less about the singing and performing and more about the hair. There was an imaginary race in which the little kid with the big voice was trying to grow his afro larger than mine. Who won? That didn't really matter, but it was the beginning of the Jackson Effect on my youth.

At the time when he wanted to break away from his family and establish his own identity, the natural rebellion was building in me. Neither of us were as dramatic as some, but we wanted to be individuals. There were stumbling blocks. After the love song to the rat ("Ben") there wasn't much success for Mike. My own bits of individuality caved to peer and family pressure and I conformed to the idea that the black kid couldn't be the smart kid.

In my late teens and Michael's twenties, "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" caught the public's attention in a huge way. That's where we diverged. I was still the shy kid still afraid to express myself because it wasn't cool. I remained a fan of the music, but I started to gravitate toward Prince as the icon that would be the individual that I couldn't bring myself to be.

Michael was still there, though. I respected the fact that he broke MTV's barrier against black music, with Prince closely following. As I started exploring me, Michael was going into hyperbole, purchasing Neverland Ranch and buying a zoo to fill it. The plastic surgeries got to the point of self parody which showed me there was a limit to self indulgence.

I started on the journey that I continue on now. Back in the day, I had friends that argued that Michael was better than Prince or that Prince dominated Michael, but I wonder what would have happened if Michael's idea of a Prince duet had actually come to fruition. That was the genesis of the song "Bad" but Prince balked.

Having said all that, I am not blind to the dark side. The stories continue to come out about Michael's foibles, financial issues and the even darker charges of pedophilia. There seemed to be no one there to check him or even check on him. His will has surfaced in which father Joe Jackson gets absolutely nothing because of the child abuse he subjected Michael to.

My spirit misses the art and wonders if someone could have stopped some of the bad parts of his life, particularly if the father wouldn't. I have been blessed to have embarked on a earthly and spiritual journey that will keep me from moving on any dark thoughts and actions like that.

I wish Michael well on his next journey. Perhaps that life will be better than this.

Fare well and I'll see you when I get there.

A Walk With Gratitude

It's been a few weeks since the family and I moved downtown and I'm having the time of my life. Every day is a reason to feel the gratitude that helps power the manifestation of my life through the Law of Attraction.

With the move, I am now living within walking distance from work and I'm taking advantage of that. Along the way, my state of mind is positive and there are times when I'm sure that the goofy grin on my face takes other pedestrians by surprise. In a world of people that haven't awakened to the ability to create whatever life they want, that must look a little strange. Then again, when they see my euphoria, perhaps they'll look into the reason why and find joy in themselves.

And why the smile? What am I so grateful for? Well, for starters:

• I haven't put gas in my car for going on 3 weeks. I haven't used it much and haven't needed to. The freedom from trying to time my gas purchase before the price arbitrarily shoots up has become a renewing source of gratitude.
  
• I own an umbrella. I never saw the use for umbrellas before because I was going from house to carport or parking garage to work's front door. A few drops was all I ever experienced. Now I get to walk in the rain and experience the healing power of the spring/summer shower.
  
• The public library is right across the street. A vast store house of knowledge that doesn't come with a sales clerk wonder if you're browsing or buying.
  
• I stop for coffee on the way to work. Before, if I had a smidgen of time, I had to hope the drive-thru wasn't backed up and that wherever I went had easy on/off highway access. Now I stop at a genuine coffee shop or bakery for genuine coffee and a bagel or if I'm feeling adventurous, a pastry I've never tried before. I'd much rather do that than go for mass produced coffee-like products and some high fat sandwich that's invariably egg-based.
  
• I greet people. Everyone is on their way somewhere and I get the chance to wish them well, rather than being trapped in a car and wondering if the person in the other car is paying attention to the road.
  
• I get to walk to work. During my walk, I can use breath or sound to bring myself present and I can think of all the things I'm grateful for during the stroll.
  

Is this life for everyone? That would be your decision but this is the life that works for me and that's the real point. This is something I've dreamed of and wanted to make happen and now it is my daily reality. You can create your own reality. Use the Law of Attraction, approach from the standpoint of gratitude and live the life you want.

And did you know the steps that will lead you to the life you want can begin today?

Consider that gratitude point number one.

Reset

Life is good.

As my last blog indicated, the family has moved into our high rise apartment with a stunning view of downtown. Actually the boys room has the best view and my youngest and I spot landmarks all the time. It's a fun little game to see a landmark during the day and then see if we can find it after dark. Meanwhile, on the balcony, the view is panoramic and west facing. A few nights ago, a thunderstorm approached and I grabbed my camera and tripod to try to get some storm pictures. It didn't work out that time because it wasn't that kind of storm, but I'm going to get some good stuff soon because I have an incredible vantage point.

Then on Friday, my daughter graduated from high school with not one, but two diplomas. The second was because she completed some college coursework while in high school. Our state recognizes how hard that is and rewards accordingly. And as I was sitting in the audience, I heard so many good things about the school itself that I'm glad we attracted that institution to us for her education. Nearly 80% of the graduates go to college. Of those, over 60% get scholarships for their higher education. With those numbers, success seems to be built into everyone that attends.

I'm grateful for the events of the past couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure that I acknowledge that. And it keeps getting better. For example, what a kick it is to now be able to walk to work. Rather than being the guy that seethes while sitting in traffic because a fender bender slowed my progress or being the guy that hopes he can make it to work despite the fact that he forgot to fill up his tank the night before, I enjoy the cooler morning air as I stroll past coffee shops and bagel places, stopping in if I want for a quick breakfast.

I told my wife that I'm not much of a suburban guy where you have to drive to the library a mile away. Now the main library is right across the street. When I visited with the kids, it was like being in a bigger, better stocked book store where they weren't looking for me to give them money. The library can be liberating that way and if you haven't been in a while, it might be worth a trip, just to take it all in.

With what's been happening lately, I feel blessed. My growing understanding of the Law of Attraction has helped me shape the life I want. I wish the same for you. This post isn't designed to teach or even share a personal experience with the Law of Attraction. It's more of a reset to say that I'm living how I desire and you can do it, too.

Reset your own life and remake it in the image you want.

Like George and Weezy

It's moving day.

The family is moving out of the suburbs and heading downtown. The circumstances of our years in the 'burbs have more to do with the health of my mother-in-law and my wife's obsession with owning an in-ground swimming pool than with my interest in the quiet life. We moved from a nearly downtown house to the ranch style because my mother-in-law's health kept deteriorating and we needed to get everything she needed access to on one floor.

And the house had a pool. Well it was less a pool than a money pit. The previous owner took such poor care of it that we spent so much money that we could have put in a new pool at the other house and come out about even. But that's how much my wife wanted it.

I felt blessed to be in the house because it was near one of my brothers, but wouldn't count myself in the truly happy column. Not that we had a bad time there. Milestones were observed. My son learned to ride his bike. I got my first big screen, high definition television. I started blogging on my varied interests. Things happened that were good.

Yet I find my apprehension odd because I was born in the country but feel more comfortable in the bustle of the city. I remember always being that way and it was a trip to New York City 12 years or so ago really put the bug in me. I was lucky enough to stay in Manhattan near Times Square and I remember walking through and being infused with the feeling that "I need this." All the things I was interested in were right there. I even put my name on the waiting list for Cats, which at the time, seemed like it was a couple of years long. The week I spent there was exhilarating.

That isn't to say that I wanted to settle in New York. I wanted the activity. I experienced the same thing on my many visits to New Orleans. Most of the things that held my interest were in the French Quarter and Central Business District. The entire city is beautiful, post Katrina notwithstanding, but walking the Quarter was my favorite activity.

Long time readers of this blog know where I'm going here. The Law of Attraction is at work again. I've attracted the outcome I want. The mortgage crisis means we're getting out of the house and getting a bonus. Tomorrow we're moving into a high rise building all the way up to the 28th floor. The view of downtown is magnificent and I find myself staring out the windows all the time.

And the photographer in me can't stop thinking about the photographic possibilities. I've been mulling around the idea of an Urban Canyon series and, because the Law of Attraction works all the time, all of a sudden, I have a fantastic vantage point with which to shoot that project. As that television theme said, "we're moving on up."

George and Weezy would be so proud.