The Allure of Susan

Have you seen the YouTube video of Susan Boyle’s appearance on Britain’s God Talent on April 11? So far, a week and a half later, it’s had almost 40 million hits from people who have been touched, enthralled and moved to tears by a not-so-gorgeous 47-year-old spinster with the voice of an angel. If you haven’t seen it, click here, YouTube - Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics).

Some people have said that the reason for Susan’s popularity is the surprise of having such beautiful music come from such an unexpected source. But I think it goes deeper than that. I think Susan has touched the hearts of people because she didn’t give up on her dream, no matter how unlikely it may have seemed.

Here is a woman who has dreamed of being a professional singer since she was twelve years old. She sang in some choirs, took some lessons, contributed a solo to a fundraising CD, but that was about it. Both of her parents were ill and she chose to care for them, leaving her dream deferred but not forgotten. Since her parents had passed away, she decided to take the unlikely opportunity of a televised talent show. When asked why she hadn’t succeeded before as a professional singer, she confidently said that she’d never been given the chance. People in the audience laughed and rolled their eyes. And then Susan started to sing, and those same people were on their feet with tears in their eyes.

The appeal of Susan Boyle is that she kept her dream alive for 35 years and then she had the courage to pursue it against really overwhelming odds. She is the embodiment what George Eliot meant when he said, “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” Susan gives hope to those of us whose lives got so busy doing other things that we buried our dream deep in our hearts. She reminds us that it really isn’t too late and she challenges us to be bold as she has been, and give the dream a chance.

What Susan touches in me is not so much a long-abandoned dream as a desire to live authentically in a way that really honours who I am. What does she stir up in you? What do you dream of doing or being? Let the seemingly-impossible story of this middle-aged woman from a tiny village in Scotland be your inspiration.