Ashan

A good three months have now gone by. Yet I still struggle to come to terms with your passing.

You brought much happiness to those around you; you gave so much of yourself to bring warmth to us all. Perhaps you gave too much. As you shuffled off this mortal coil, I lied against the wall - half in contempt, half in contemplation. "Why you?" "Why now?"

Many a friend I have come to meet and know over the course of my life.. but none were like you; none will be. You truly were a gem of a friend.. Looking back, I can only see how blessed I have been to have crossed paths with you, let alone be a close friend of yours. Perhaps it is selfish of me to want your wonderful friendship for the rest of my life.

Above everything.. to me; you were the epitome of a selfless man. There have been times when I have questioned my own sacrifices in life, few as they may be; but each time I only had to think of you, and those questions disappeared.

Thank you. For putting a smile on our faces on the rainiest of days. For being the wonderful listener who does not judge. For being there for me no matter what. For showing me what true friendship really means. For.. everything.

You will live on, Ashan Ratnapala - in our musings and memories.

Gone Too Soon

I was seven year's old when I first began scavenging through the audio CD's at home, and the very first album I listened to was MJ's 'Dangerous.' Then, I didn't know how he looked, or who he was in person. The only clue I had was his eyes on the cover of the album. The CD, of course came with a booklet that contained the lyrics to every song in the album. As much as I enjoyed the beat and liveliness of Jam and Black or White, I was heavily influenced by the lyrics of Heal The World and Gone Too Soon. I would listen to the CD all day and sing slong, eventually memorizing the flow of words. Soon after I caught his music videos and concerts on TV, exposing me to his holistic talent as an entertainer. I idolized and hailed him.. then as a great entertainer, now as the greatest ever. I never had much of an interest in his personal life, and never will. I believe artiste's (with and without the 'e') deserve only to be judged by their art, and on that basis alone - Michael Jackson epitomizes the 'complete artiste.' He was well and truly a master of his art; the art of entertainment.

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 am dancing, I have felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I 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 the creation merge into one wholeness of joy. I keep on dancing... and dancing... and dancing, until there is only... the dance.

'The Dance' by Michael Jackson (from the inner front cover of 'Dangerous')