It is no secret to those who know me that I love to sing. I like to imagine my life is a musical and every conversation is a number that should be sung. Loudly.

I sing in the morning and I sing at night.

I sing in the shower and in the car.

I sing to my husband, my pets, my teapot, my oven.

I sing to the lady running the cash register at the local grocery store and to the elderly man in the produce department trying to determine if the avocados are ripe (“they are not, they are not, they are nooooooot”)

I sing loud and I sing proud.

I sing very, very badly.

As much as I want to be a good singer, as much as I FEEL the music and it FEELS so right, what comes out of my mouth is very, very wrong.

It makes me sad because I want it so much but it does not want me back.

Walk away from things not meant for you…..

Today was one of those days that started off strong but quickly become sidetracked by the internet. My quest for a drywall contractor was hijacked by a link to “The X Factor” and before I knew it several hours had passed and my home improvement project was no closer to completion.

I am not a big TV watcher and admit I have never seen The X Factor or any of the “Got Talent” shows I discovered in my free fall down the rabbit hole. I was mesmerized. People from all over the world showed up to sing (and display other talents which I skipped because I am all about the singing.)

Young people. Old people. People of all shapes, sizes and manner of dress (or undress.) People of all nationalities and socioeconomic classes followed the pull of the music and the song in their heart and found their way to the audition stage.

Some of them were there as a way to be discovered and make lots of money.

Some of them were there for their fifteen minutes of fame or infamy.

Some of them saw it as a chance to better their lives.

Most of them were there because they FELT the music. They felt it deep inside of themselves and good or bad (and A LOT of it was bad….) wanted a chance to share what they felt with the world. What good is a calling if there is no one to hear it?

Music is the great divider “I like heavy metal” “I hate country” and the great unifier because, as I learned today, everyone wants to sing.

I witnessed many small miracles today as I watched a McDonald’s worker bring the crowd to its feet, a shy teenager bring the judges to tears, a man from a small Swedish village hush a room with his crooning and a girl with a voice bigger than her body and a soul older than her years stun and humble everyone around her.

I saw people prematurely judged based on their looks or backstory set the record straight and prove that they were chosen by something higher as soon as the music started and they opened their mouths.

There is a moment, I discovered today, when a room full of people from all walks of life are touched and moved and unified at the same time by something that crosses every boundary life places between us. There is a moment when the singer takes the stage and their doubt becomes a shadow and the shadow becomes wings and their voice reaches to heaven and heaven reaches down to meet it. There is a moment of silence and reverence in the crowd. A hush before the roar. There is a stillness before the crowd rises in unison to its feet, the closest they can get to flight, the closest they will get to a miracle.