Truly Inspirational

As I sit here in my office today answering emails, I came across a forward from my favorite mother in the world. Yes, I know she is my only mother, but she is still my favorite. As long as she tells me I'm her favorite (and only) son, then I can tell her she's my favorite mom.

I was glad to see that it was not a long storybook forward that I have already received a thousand times before. The message was simple "Do not judge a book by its cover," and a link. I noticed it was a YouTube link, so I had no idea what to expect. Once I clicked on the link, I immediately realized that it was an excerpt from the show Britain's Got Talent. Mainly because of the huge billboard that could be seen.

Earlier this morning on the way to work, I caught the tail end of a conversation from good ole' Kidd Kraddick about some lady on a talent show that shocked everyone when she sang. Allegedly, she has only sung for her cats in her house until that moment.

She came out on stage in a very plain outfit and definitely did not have the body that would turn many heads upon entering the room. During the brief interview when she revealed she wanted to become a professional singer, you could actually hear the crowd laughing at such a ludicrous dream for her. Surely, this 47 year-old woman was out of her prime and out of her league. Obviously, this was just another cruel attempt for some producer to have a new butt for their jokes.

From the first note sung, the crowd screamed with applause and the look on the judge's faces were of total shock. I, myself, even thought that this had to be fake somehow. This angelic voice could in no way, shape, or form belong to the woman who stood there on TV. As I sat here listening to the clip, the room must have become very dusty or full of allergens because my eyes began to water. How wrong was I to make preconceived judgements about someone and whether or not they could do something? This 7 minute clip should be a prime example as to why we don't judge people before we know them because sometimes, just sometimes, we might be wrong and miss out on something beautiful.

Please take 7 minutes out of your day to watch this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

What is healthcare?

I was listening to educational stuff this morning when a couple of big questions popped in my head that I thought I should start a dialogue with. For you English nuts, I believe I just ended a sentence with a preposition and I should not. OK.....

What is health care and, for that matter, health insurance?

If I ask that to an audience, someone almost always answers, "It's for when you're sick."

If health care and health insurance is only to be used when you are sick, then where does the health come in? Should it be renamed to sick care and sick insurance?

If most MDs are only trained in sickness, then why do we rely on them to manage our health?

What are you doing to prevent your body from breaking down physically, mentally, or nutritionally?

If we waited for our cars' engines to make funny noises before changing the oil, then how "healthy" would our cars be?

If we waited for a toothache to go to the dentist, then how healthy would our teeth be?

Should I wait until my body breaks down before I choose to seek help? If so, would it cost more money to fix a broken down body or maintain a healthy one?

I really look forward to any comments on this one....