Life is a gift. The path to a joyous life, is to share. The first thing one must do is to recognize the gift you were born with, and trust in that. Our first instinct is usually not to have confidence in that gift…so we may be afraid to go with it, afraid we may fail. But if you can take a leap of faith, you will find your bliss in sharing that gift with others.
As a child, I would get lost in a blank piece of paper and a crayon. I was tall and geeky in kindergarten and elementary school. I was completely ignored until I was in art class. The teacher who frowned at me during arithmetic class, gloated over my art work. At the end of High School, I ended up winning a complete scholarship to art school, but I did not follow my gift.
I tried modeling, because I was tall and became gangly when I became a teenager. That was fun of course. It gave me the attention and confidence that I desperately needed, emerging from a chubby pubescent. The initial novelty wore off. The ruthless reality and shallowness of competition over physical attributes became apparent. I lost the joy in strutting my stuff in front of photographers and down runways. It wasn’t until I began repairing my own makeup and hair, after the experts were done with me, that the other models took notice of my additional talent. They wanted me to fix them up too, so they would drag me into the bathroom and I fixed them too. I found my joy. I had so much more fun behind closed doors doing everyones make-up and hair, than I did in front of the camera. My lightbulb moment didn’t hit me until I was in my twenties.
When I found my gift, my entire life suddenly began to fall into place. I enrolled in cosmetology school for evening classes, and the demand for my talent began to grow during the day. On a modeling interview, I met the top celebrity photographer Dick Zimmerman. When he hired me as a model, I had the chance to tell him that I was really a make-up artist. We got along so well, he decided to try me out. Bingo! I was in the right place, at the right time, with all the skills to get the job of my dreams. Dick called me for all his jobs, with the top celebrities. Then, not unlike any of his other calls for me to come in for work, he booked me to shoot an album cover with Michael Jackson. The next 27 years of my life were forever to become magic.
But I am not here to talk about the last 30 years. I am here to talk about today and tomorrow. Michael showed me the world, and he taught me so much, I cannot let his death be the end of Michael’s ability to give. Michael filled my pockets with so many gifts. I cannot sing and dance, but he believed in me and the talents that I brought to his career. I must now share them. After being completely traumatized by my loss….the worlds loss, it took me a year to be clear about one of the biggest lessons he taught me. Share your gifts.
So I am here, with all of you, to continue the journey that Michael began for me. I do not know exactly where the path is leading, but I am confident that magic happens when you know what your gift is….and I know my gift was Michael.
Welcome to my journey.
Karen
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