Let them sing

April 12, 2009 in Uncategorized

(It appears the video embedding has been disabled above. You can find the video here)

Some of you may remember how much I loved this performance by Paul Potts on Britain's Got Talent.

This one by Susan Boyle is another reminder of how little we expect from people and how much we can be surprised and enriched if we open space for them to shine. To sing.

And if we close down the Judgment Machine.

Be surprised by people, and acknowledge your own judging of them. Paul and Susan are beautiful reminders of this lesson.

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.

9 comments to " Let them sing "


sarah

April 12, 2009 AT 7:24PM

hi patti,
I’ve been lurking on your blog for the past 18 days (in time to jump in on the 37 day challenge). Only good things have come since i started reading your blog regularly. after reading this post, however, I felt the urge to broadcast it over all my email lists (I rarely (if ever) send mass-emails). Thank you for the inspiration; thank you for spreading the love.

Sylvia

April 12, 2009 AT 8:54PM

Thank you :)

Carolynn

April 12, 2009 AT 10:52PM

I love that moment when the doubting faces in the crowd register their shock and amazement. It gives me chills. Then tears. I can’t watch stuff like that without crying, it seems.

You go, Susan!

Teri and the cats of Furrydance

April 12, 2009 AT 11:29PM

Amazing! I don’t watch TV much at all, so had missed this. Thank you so much for, as they say, the wake up call.

Chris Corrigan

April 13, 2009 AT 1:11AM

You nailed it Patti.

janet

April 13, 2009 AT 8:47AM

What a great video and moment! Thank you for sharing it. Inspirational.

JP

April 13, 2009 AT 9:00AM

“Surprise” is a much finer emotion than “knowing”, and to surprise your own sense of knowing is better yet. People are judged all the time by appearances first and then the rest of the stuff second; and when people look a certain way, look different from the norm, the “other stuff” recedes further and deeper into misty pre-judgment obscurity. And then something like this (above) happens; this woman’s talent electrifies and the prejudices about the rest of her abilities evaporate as her voice disarms the judgments brought on by her homey appearance. In one flash she goes from being a joke to a genius. What is it that happens in the instant that these two concepts collide and genius wins?

Betsy

April 13, 2009 AT 11:51AM

Why does watching this (just like watching Paul Potts’ video a couple of years ago) make us cry? I even knew what was coming this time, so I can’t just say, “Oh, it was such a surprise.” Is it because it challenges my own prejudices about someone who looks plain or unattractive on the outside having such a gift? Is it because I’m jealous of someone who looks “like that” being able to sing so beautifully? Is it simply the beauty of their voices singing so passionately? Is it watching someone realize a long-held dream? Maybe all of it combined?

smallbluebird

April 14, 2009 AT 12:50AM

I think this made me cry and touched me so because the possibilities in our fellow human beings are without limits. She had a secret that she was ready to share with the world. Really, isn’t the most simple and elegant gift that a person can give is to just stand there and sing a song? A song that lifts spirits or touches a heart or eases a pain. No frills, no big expense, just a sweet effort to express the human experiences that we all share.