AS I was surfing the net the other day, I came across this ad that said: “Download a ring tone from the Idol who didn’t come home.” Then flashed on the right hand corner is the name of American Idol Kelly Clarkson and the title of her hit album “Because of You”.
The idol who didn’t come home. This apparently refers to Kelly’s failure to mention American Idol Show in her thank you speech when she received her first Grammy awards for Female Vocal Performance and Pop Vocal Album, which awards, if I am not mistaken, are merited from her hit “Because of You”. Well, it could be forgivable for all followers and producers of AI, if Kelly apologized for her shortcoming. But when interviewed about it, she just shrugged her shoulders and said something like - “Well, I did mention the fans, and the fans mean American Idol.” Oh wow, I can just imagine Simon Cowell’s nose smokin’ with fury! (lol) Talk about gratitude and many critics say Kelly needs a much dosage of it.
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Being grateful is very important. It is even considered a therapy. Again from the entertainment side, in the movie America’s Sweethearts where John Cusack played the role of the actor husband of Catherine Zeta-Jones, the theme of gratefulness was noted. John Cusack, believed to be suffering from a psychological disorder, was shown being given meditation treatment where he would make mantra-like recitals of ‘I am grateful for the stars, I am grateful for the flowers, I am grateful for this car…’ and so on. This way, he could assuage his anxiety and panic attacks, thereby calming his nerves and emotions. Of course, this ‘gratefulness theme’ in the film was given a comic presentation, but i would say it did not fail deliver a message.
On a more thoughtful note, gratefulness, to my mind, gives a comforting feeling. To be grateful is to acknowledge the people, the things and events that have led to your success in something. Above all, it is recognizing that there is a God who provides us everything, who answers prayers in due time. In the case of Kelly Clarkson, being grateful to American Idol is awareness of her roots, her beginnings. It is a reminder that - “hey, I was not big at once. I started from the bottom like many others before I hit the top.”
Ungrateful people are said to have amnesia (lol). They intentionally forget where they come from because they are awed and overwhelmed by their present status. And worse, they purposely do not remember the past because they are ashamed to accept the fact that they were but nothing once, and that one time in their life, they were just one of the unknowns in the multitude of humanity.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It turns a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, creates a vision for tomorrow.” - Melody Beattie
Maybe you could post something about the “American Idol who is from Home”, Filipino-American Jose “Sway” Penala (http://www.josepenala.com/).
Nice blog. There are lots of reasons why we must be grateful. Just to be alive is enough reason to be grateful. Keep blogging.
[…] When I started this blog last January 2006, I wanted very much to write in my entries some bits and pieces of the things I learned in law school. Incidentally, I came across this site of a graduating law stude who was then reviewing for the 2006 bar exams. He left a comment in an entry I posted here on American Idol Kelly Clarkson which is how I got to track his blog. Cleverly, law stude used his blog in posting his reviewers, in the hope that doing so would help him retain the “gazillions” of laws, statutes and jurisprudence. Reading his blog, I felt encouraged to do the same in my blog, though perhaps only intermittently. But I held back. I got cold feet. I was afraid people would judge me again here. […]