Life has been hard for quite a while now. Lots of things have happened over the past year that are completely out of my control. It can all be very overwhelming, and I catch myself just going through the motions of my day. I read this story the other day and it was a good reminder to stop and enjoy each day. Life can change so fast and I don't want to miss out on the blessings of today by worrying about the unknowns of tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A man sat
at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a
cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time,
since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the
station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a
middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and
stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A
minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the
money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few
minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man
looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for
work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His
mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist.
Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his
head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the
parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the
musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him
money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he
finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor
was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua
Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of
the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million
dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out
at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real
story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the
Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and
priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an
inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we
recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible
conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to
stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music
ever written, how many other things are we missing?"
By: Josh
Nonnenmoc
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My spontaneous children that ALWAYS stop to smell the roses and enjoy each day! :)
The thrill of "homemade" fun!
"But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield." Psalm 5:11-12
*BTW..... I looked up the story and it is true. It happened in 2007. :o)
