I first heard about the mangle-toothed “I want to sing Opera” Paul Potts, the insta-singing sensation on Britain’s Got Talent (the UK’s American Idol) from Billy Goldman, one of my fave yoga teachers at The Yoga Workshop. He kept talking about it, all class, in a broken-hearted happy kind of way, telling us to check it out. I did, and understood why he’d brought it to our attention. There’s nothing better than being cynical, close-minded, close-hearted, and then…60 million plus views later (on various videos, not counting the viewership of the show itself or reruns or news coverage…well, click here. 

And now, even if you don’t watch TV or read the paper, you may’ve heard of Susan Boyle, the fun, “never been kissed” church lady who made Simon Cowell smile—yes—and the other judges stand and clap or say it was the biggest surprise in their three years of judge-ing.

Click here for Susan’s video.

So why’s this material for our eco, spiritual journal? Because, of course, Susan Boyle and Paul Potts are so well-loved because they remind all of us cold-hearted !@#$%^&*s what being human is all about: opening up, smiling, crying. That’s more than a cheesy sentiment—that’s the spiritual journey, captured on a youtube video. “We were being cynical…biggest wake-up call ever…a privilege.”

And when such a humble opening takes place on TV, well, it gives you hope that the most powerful medium we have can be a source for more than T&A and so-called reality.