Susan Boyle syndrome

It was a usual morning for me.... coffee and sitting in front of the computer, bored. Then I saw this link to a singing sensation in Britain, and I said, `Oh, why not?'

It's this 47 year old lady, Susan Boyle being interviewed, all frumpy and the way the interview was heading, the first thought came to my mind...`Oh no, another William Hung? Poor girl, they're going to make a fool out of her!' Standing in front of a jeering audience and Simon's infamous condescending attitude didn't help either. Still defiantly maintaining her cool despite all the odds mounted in front of her, she signalled for her song to be played.

When she sang her first verse, I could feel the hair on my body standing and my tears began flow freely. Oh my....it was a breathtakingly beautiful experience. I watched the video over and over again.... at least 10 times. By now, that video has been viewed more than 12 million times! The last count was 6 hours ago and it stood at 11.3 million. That makes an average of more than 100,000 viewers per hour!

I wondered why ....why the obssesion over Susan Boyle's one song ? Why has it captivated so many people and so many times over with just one song ?

Film makers spend millions of dollars on one feel-good movie. Carefully planned plots, good looking A-list actors and after a multitude of misunderstandings and missed opportunities.... over 2 hours long, come the finale, which, should bring the audience to tears. If it does, then the movie is a success. Susan Boyle did the same in less than 5 minutes! Go figure!

Perhaps, what she had to go through on stage just before she sang hit home, for me, at least. All of us have been there before, at least I know I have. Being sneered at, being the odd-one-out, standing courageously in front of a jeering crowd and being unfairly judged. As she stood on the stage just before singing, I felt a pain in my heart. A helpless situation when I felt the world was against me and I had to keep my cool to do what I had to do.

And when she sang...... it was sweet revenge. The lotus that blooms out of the mud. Untouched, pure and beautiful despite the odds. In fact, this is very reason why the lotus is so sacred in Buddhism. Despite all difficulties and all undesirable elements, it is still unaffected and still blooms beautifully. I wept because I was happy for her.

But most of all, I wept because I saw hope, for me.......for maybe one day, my lotus will bloom.....

Do check out Susan Boyle on Youtube, and you will know what I mean.