Why does the sheer excitement of a Susan Boyle so capture our hearts and minds that we cheer unabashedly at her overwhelming victory on the stage of Britain's Got Talent?
Some say it's because it makes us all wonder if similar greatness lies within us. That's a nice idea, but doesn't really even come close to capturing my wild applause for Susan. The real reason I cheer for her and the revelation of her magnificent talent at the age of 47---almost 48, as she puts it---is something else:
It's that she triumphs wildly against all odds and without any of the normal trappings that we/I---THE WORLD---normally value so highly: Youth, wealth, beauty, power, status. Somehow she's gotten through all our filters that would have conspired to keep her away from that stage and our high approval ratings and bursts onto the scene as the unpretentious, wildly talented woman she is.
It happens so fast, that I love her immediately--almost in spite of myself. I love her frumpy, yet genuinely feminine dress, her unfashionable, curly hairdo, her unsculpted figure, her almost washer woman demeanor, her self-confidence and sweet sense of humor.
I love her solidness.
Most of all, I love her for sharing her God-given gift of singing from an inner place deep inside. I love it that she's not self-conscious.
As I listen and watch this miraculous moment unfold on stage, rather than wonder if some hidden talent hides in me, me, me, I completely forget myself and am lost in the wonder of her emerging, monstrous talent. I totally forget myself for a time and am enthralled in Susan, Susan, Susan--her hopes, her talent, her eight siblings and even her cat Pebbles, for heavens sake!
I wonder if someone turned the tellie on for Pebbles so that she can see her lady master's triumphant moment?
I'm reminded that often great talent in the world goes through long desert, gestation experiences before God brings it out in the open for all the world to see. And I hope and pray that the success that follows won't ruin or compromise this lovely woman named Susan Boyle. Her family. Or Pebbles.
I never want Susan to leave the stage. I certainly never want her---and what she represents---to leave the stage of my heart.
If the video below doesn't work and as if you haven't seen it yet, then try this YouTube link.
Britains Got Talent 2009 Susan Boyle 47 Year Old Singer
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UPDATES: Good news, so far. And Bob Krumm on fast fame on the internet via YouTube that now often by-passes the Oprahs of the world.
You hit the nail on the head. I had goosebumps listening to her! Pure talent, no tricks!
ReplyDeleteI think it's her raw talent. True talent is so terribly rare.
ReplyDeleteI love the faces of the judges. They know they are hearing the real deal.