"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

-- Mother Teresa

Hi everyone,

Susan Boyle captured the world's attention when she entered Britain's talent competition and wowed the judges with her beautiful voice. It wasn't Susan's beautiful voice that sparked the global media frenzy, yet I have not seen anyone other than one of the judges (kudos to her) tell the truth about what happened. And that's worth pondering.

(If you haven't yet seen Susan's performance, click here.)

When Susan first stepped onto the stage (both in Britain and across the world via the mass media), collective eyebrows raised in surprise. "What is she doing here?" everyone seemed to be thinking. That question didn't arise out of curiosity -- it was condescension. Instantly, people judged that she couldn't possibly have anything of value to offer.

Why such harsh judgment? Seems to me it must be because she's older (47 years), because she's not gorgeous (though she's not unattractive) and, dare I say, because she's a woman. I also suspect her confidence sparked snickering along the lines of, "She doesn't even know how ridiculous she is." Then, in less than a second, she was everyone's darling.

What sparks this kind of immediate, negative judgment about someone? Deep down, might it be our own fear of being judged? Of being socially different, unacceptable, scorned, laughed at? And was the widespread rapture at her performance a sign of our collective subconscious relief that no matter what our personal weakness might be, we might still have something valuable to offer the world? What does this story say about society's perceptions and values? What can we learn from it? A wake-up call indeed.

What do you think? Let's share!

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~ Patrice

"Criticism drives out the awareness of divine presence. Criticism distorts our perception and disconnects us from our soul."

-- Andrew Schneider