The Legacy

"The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example." Benjamin Disareli I remember exactly what I was doing on this day last year. At around 11pm on the 25th June 2009 I received a text from a friend that simply stated , "MJ is dead." Now, the only MJ that I knew was The Michael Jackson. He couldn't be dead. He was just about to embark on fifty dates at the O2 in London. He was, as one of his previous albums had been named- invincible. Yet, as I turned the tv channels frantically to CNN/ Sky news, any channel that I knew would be credible- swooping helicopters and thousands of people outside some American hospital confirmed what I feared. MJ was dead- the pop icon was no more.

But, a year on, we not only still play his music more than ever before, a movie has been produced in his honour, his funeral was a national event with everyone glued to their seats as musicians and singers like Mariah and John Mayer paid tribute. And even more so, we still talk about him like he never left. Because, in reality he hasn't. His legacy lives on. Besides all the fame, money and success that we all constantly continue to strive for- we often forget about the legacy that we have the oppourtinity to leave behind. For some of us, wealth and inheritance is not an available option to leave behind for the ones we love because we just don't have it to give- yet there are still principles and morals that remain even after death. We all will admit that MJ may have had his absurd moments but besides all the madness surrounding him he had the ability to unite people using his music as a tool against all social, racial, economic barriers. His legacy is not the million pound estates, the Neverland ranch, the records or lewd and crazy acts but rather the use of putting his talents to work and leaving unmovable stamp on this world. We can't take the money, cars, women/men with us when we die. So lets make sure that our legacy has the lasting impression when we leave this earthly realm and enter the next.

I came. I saw. I blog.

Ruth x