Open Your Eyes

If you have been dying to read a sappy "blue" blog post...here we go.

Last night I watched American Idol and I was really touched by what I saw. No, I don't get all choked up by singing and dancing :) In fact, sometimes even I don't get Paula's teary critiques.

Well, last night was the weekly elimination episode, where the contestant with the fewest votes leaves the competition. The person who lost was Scott, the singer from Phoenix who happens to be blind.

I remember back when they were doing auditions, I thought to myself how challenging it would be for him to participate, and wondering what kind of accommodations would need to be made. I wondered if the show would dump him right away in order to not have to do that.

He turned out to be pretty good, so he hung around awhile. Every week I took notice of how the other contestants aided and guided him while performing. They've been really kind and considerate about it. They are very subtle. You barely see what's happening unless you're looking for it.

To me, that's the considerate part. Because I suppose the show producers and directors can tell the others they have to help this blind competitor. But they can't make them do it in this gentle, thoughtful way...a way that allows Scott to become a member of the group, with the emphasis on his singing ability instead of his challenge.

Last night, the group performed a song together that required a lot of position changes, turns, and going up and down stairs. What I noticed was that at any given time during this performance, one of the others would be withing an arm's reach of Scott. They would ever so slightly touch his arm or elbow or hand, directing him where to go. They even seamlessly guided him up and down the stairs.

At one point, they were all lined up in a row, and Scott was a little too far forward. The person beside him didn't reach out and pull him back. He didn't say anything to cause Scott to realize he was out of position, or tell him to step backward. What he DID was take a small, quick step forward and make it look as if the two of them were out of line.

And THAT was the part that touched me. I know it's a small thing, just some singing on a reality TV show. But it gives me hope. It was a small moment of kindness that makes me believe in people. In the goodness and niceness of average, everyday people. Once you open your eyes and start looking for those things, they're everywhere. Open up your eyes and you'll really see.