Thursday, April 16, 2009

Dreaming BIG

I saw the picture of Susan Boyle on my internet homepage yesterday, but never clicked on it. It had a catchy title, something like, "47, and never been kissed." Still wasn't enough to pull me in.

This morning, as I was going through the blogs I follow, I noticed on Marion's blog, Meryl's Musings, a link to the video of Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables..

Lyrics:

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high,
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid
When dreams were made and used,
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, No wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hopes apart
As they turn your dreams to shame.

And still I dream he'll come to me
And we will live our lives together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms We cannot weather...

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seems
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

When she first walked on the stage, her mere appearance caused a bit of skeptisism. But when she opened her mouth, she was judged even more harshly.

And then she opened her heart, and sang. A paradigm shift overtook the crowd . It was palpable. People jumped to their feet, they cheered. This woman had a dream, and she had the ferocity of belief to make it a reality.

When she finished singing, the first judge actually said to her that "when you were standing there with that cheeky grin, and said that you wanted to be like Elaine Paige, everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now." The second judge said, "I am so thrilled, because I know that everyone was against you." How very sad is that?

How many of us have huge dreams for ourselves, but because we don't fit someone else's idea of what that dream should be, we never have the guts to put it out there? Fear of someone judging without even knowing?

I love that she went on that stage and sang her heart out, in spite of the eye rolling and the laughter. What an inspiration she is!!! That is who she was meant to be, her God given talent.

It's like that saying...what would you do if you knew you could not fail? Anything! Everything! I do have dreams, but I admit that I have that fear of not being good enough, judged. Or am I too lazy to work hard enough to make it happen? How bad do I want it?

What is your dream? How bad do you want it? Bad enough?

7 comments:

amuse me said...

I have watched this video quite a few times and still get chills. I love this song and then to hear it done so beautifully. And, what would we be if we didn't dream!?

Proud Mom said...

This song is so poetic and beautiful. It takes a lot of courage to do what Susan did. Too many people are so afraid of failure that they never even take the 1st step. (Have you read the post I wrote on 3/4/09 about it?)

I hope more people are inspired by Susan's performance and follow their dreams. Maybe even create their own Bucket List, like I did.

Thanks for visiting my blog and for all of your encouraging words.

Hugs ~ Lisa

Scriptor Senex said...

There is no doubt Susan was inspiring and I hope a lot more people do follow their dreams but when I was twenty I too had a dream. I didn't achieve it but my regrets are few. Had I done so I would not have had the children I now have. I would have had different expriences and been a different person. Sometimes dreams have to be left as dreams and if we take what our God has in store for us and do our best with that we may find it is pretty darn good.
My view is that you should never be afraid to go for it but that if it doesn't work out you may still find your life ends up being remarkable.

Proud Mom said...

Scriptor ~ so well said. I, too, have often said that if I went to college, my life would have been different not necessarily better because the path would never have lead to my husband, and I would not have had my two beautiful boys.

So pursue your dreams but live without regret. (Funny ... I've heard this somewhere. Hmmmm, maybe on someone's blog, right?)

septembermom said...

Her voice can now be appreciated for all of its beauty and emotion! Good for her. Les Miserables is one of my favorite productions. "I Dreamed a Dream" can make me cry every time I hear it! It such a wonderful message to all of us to just take a shot at fulfilling our dream. We shouldn't second guess ourselves.

Dan Felstead said...

I saw her video earlier this week and wore out the repeat button...truly unbelievable. I admire her perseverance...trying to get noticed for her talent since she was twelve.

I am truly embarrassed to say that when I first saw her...I had some sarcastic skepticism...I hope I have learned an important lesson by watching her video. From now on, if I begin to write someone off without getting to know them...shame on me.

Dan

Cynthia L. H. said...

Isn't it amazing that she has caused such a sensation worldwide? She is a candle in the darkness.
Have you searched her version of Cry Me a River on YouTube?
It is the most beautiful version I've ever heard, by ANYone...I can't think of who to compare her singing to in the world of female singers, because she is so unique...but Frank Sinatra comes to mind...just like velvet. :^)

Flora & Fauna

Books I have known & loved

  • Life of Pi
  • A Hundred Years of Solitude
  • Kite Runner
  • The Way the Crow Flies
  • Fall on Your Knees
  • Poisonwood Bible
  • East of Eden
  • Shantaram
  • I Know This Much is True

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