Dreaming Out Loud

If you haven't yet heard about a woman named Susan Boyle, you will. She is a 47-year-old woman from a town near Bathgate, Scotland who recently sang for a panel of judges on the British version of American Idol, Britain's Got Talent. The video of her performance has, at last count, over 12 million hits on YouTube.

Most popular reaction to seeing Susan Boyle has concentrated on what is perceived as a disconnect between her voice and her personal appearance; as if the plain brown wrapper conceals nothing more than other equally ordinary attributes. That is, to be fair, part of the astonishment. We are so used to living in a world where "to seem" is so much more important than it is "to be," we are suspicious of the very quality that brought Susan Boyle to stand up on stage in front of hundreds of strangers (and Simon Cowell) and take her life in her own hands - passion.

Boyle sings a song from the Broadway hit Les Misérables, "I Dreamed a Dream." In the play, it is sung by Fantine, who, after being abandoned by her lover, gives birth to her daughter, Cosette. Fantine is wrongly fired from her job and forced into prostitution in order to support herself and her daughter. Fantine sings about the wretchedness of her condition:

I Dreamed a Dream

There was a time when men were kind

When their voices were soft

And their words inviting

There was a time when love was blind

And the world was a song

And the song was exciting

There was a time

Then it all went wrong

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

And 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 hope apart

And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side

He filled my days with endless wonder

He took my childhood in his stride

But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me

That we will live the years 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 seemed

Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

This song is important to Boyle. She also dreamed a dream in time gone by - she has wanted to be a professional singer since she was 12 years old. She is the youngest of nine children, and until recently lived with her mother, who died about a year ago. She is what used to be called a spinster, an old maid. Her sole companion these days is her cat.

When you watch the video, you will see the entrenched cynicism and skepticism of the audience and the judges literally melt away as soon as Boyle begins to sing. They cannot believe what they are seeing - and hearing. But they quickly begin to believe. They want to believe. Their belief turns to guarded hope - that Boyle will hit the high notes - and their hopes are rewarded. She does it! The crowd goes wild! Yes!

The judges are shocked, surprised, amazed! But Boyle knew she could do it. She knew she had the power within herself. She has kept her dream alive. She has decided that life will not kill it, that there is still time for her dream to come true. She took her dream out of her small town, and brought it to the world stage. Susan Boyle has the courage to dream her dream in the daylight, for all to witness.

And that is what is so inspiring.

Watch Susan Boyle.

And then decide. What is your dream? How will you live it?