Why is he such a great opera singer?

I was listening to an opera singer this morning. Ben Somebody. He's suppose to be good,- really good. One of the best in the world actually. So I gave him a chance.

To me it sounded like opera. La La LAAAAAHHHHHH!
But I don't know why this guy was great.

Not that he sounded bad, don't get me wrong. He didn't hit any sour notes or anything. But what is it that makes him greater than any other Joe Opera?
I'm not familiar with opera, and my ear's never been trained like the critics so anyone singing lah lah lah would sound good to me, so long as they weren't drastically bad. Tell me anyone was the best in the world and I'd gullibility believe you 'cause I don't know the standard.

I think that's a problem with people in many ways. Just look at American Idol. Lots of people go on there thinking they sound good. Maybe someone even told them they sound good. And maybe to me they're not too bad. But the ones who are trained in this stuff, who make it their business to know the standards, it's all off.
I'm thinking about all of this stuff in light of my own spirituality. I've been reflecting and questioning a lot of my spirituality these last few months.
I usually think I'm a pretty good person.

But why?
Is it because I don't hit a majorly wrong note? Or because other people seem to think I'm pretty good. Or because I do "good things" like go to church.
But I know when I look at the standard of what is right, or "true religion" as the Bible discribes it, I often fall short.
Am I walking in love? Am I caring for the widows and orphans? Am I sacrificing for others? Am I patient?
Often the answer is no.
Maybe I'm not a great as I think I am.

meet & greet

I haven’t been to my lady doctor appointment in 3 years. So I figured I should probably go.
I got a recommendation for a good doctor here in GB from a few friends. I called for an appointment.
“Well, first we have to have a meet & greet appointment,” the receptionist told me.
Is this like an audition? Do I have to prepare interview questions? Who exactly is interviewing whom? I wondered.
So we met & gret, and she explained “I simply like to do this first so new patients can come and see the office, and ask any questions they might have of me, and that way they can feel comfortable.
I really appreciate that.
I do.
But she’s a lady doctor. I don’t care how many meets & greets we do. I will never feel comfortable with her.I will never lie there in a paper gown with my feet up in stirrups thinking to myself, “Wow! This isn’t awkward at all. I’m so glad that we sat down together for 15 minutes. This might have been horrible, but now it’s kinda like a girl’s-night-in”
I hope they don’t bill my insurance for that.

Just thinking outloud

Mory is one of my Kind gardeners.
A very chatty character.
I've noticed over the school year that he's now being raised in the Muslim faith. (I don't think this was always the case but I'm not 100% sure. I mean he's 6 so you can't always figure these things out.)
Anyway the other day as we were working together we started talking about Allah (which I know is simply the Arabic word for God)and how he was angry.
"No, Mory, I don't think Allah is angry at you. I think he loves us very much."
"No! he is." he insisted. "You have to pray down like this" he showed me how he kneels down, bowing low to pray. "You have to pray everyday."
"I do pray Mory. But I don't bow like that, I just sit up."
"Yes, that's how Americans pray. But, Africans, we have to pray like this" (again, he's only 6, so he's associated America with Christianity and Africa with Islam)
"If you don't, then Allah will take you tongue like this, (putting it out) and he'll pound a nail through it. He'll crush on you. He'll pound you like 'Boom Boom'" (not really sure if this is in the Koran or if this is just what he's been told. Like how a kid might be told by his Catholic mother that he'll go to hell if he gets a tattoo. )
But Mory, being the animated character that he is, was enthusiastically pounding his fist and making God's angry face. And then it kinda dawned on him,- dawned on him what he was saying, and how that effected me. He got very somber.
It's like he realized the 'bad guy' that would be pounded, would be me.
"So you have to pray. Okay? Okay, Miss Merrill? Just sometimes... sometimes pray like that okay?"
Only the thing is, the thing that I couldn't articulate to this six year old, it that I'm not afraid of that happening, because I don't believe that's God's character.
On the way home I started wondering about people who live far from God and how they interact with Christians. I guess if the only message they ever heard of is "repent or go to hell" they would no more believe it than I did with Mory.
Several of my students are Muslim, and it's been interesting talking with them and learning about their faith. (the older ones are more articulate than a kindergartner) But sometimes I wonder what they think about me. Do they think I'm a bad person because I eat pork or because I don't cover my head when I pray. None of them have ever said anything like that, but I wonder if they judge me.
but what about my non-christian friends? Do they wonder what I think about them? Do they fear that I secretly judge them?