I'm taking a little blogging break, but I will be back soon!
In the meantime, I thought you may find this thought provoking..........
THE SITUATION
In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About 4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At 6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
THIS IS A TRUE STORY SEE
7 comments:
"How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?" DollyT - we miss how rich we are in all our experiences, everyday, every single day.
I put a link on my blog about radios for Burma and not one comment. Maybe everyone who read it bought one - if so hooray. But the lack of comments has made me feel very sad. In the first world, however 'poor' we think we are, we have so much. We have free speech and freedom of expression. I say be dark green and recycle some cash for Burma. In the words of Aung San Suu Kyi, "Please use your liberty to promote ours" .
Nice post Sue. I bet if I had been a passer by I would have stayed to listen for ages. Too bad the mum's dragged their kids away. They could have bragged about seeing the great virtuoso playing live for free.
Have a nice and restful blog break and see you when you get back.
Peace,
Anne
That gave me goose bumps all over my body, how very true is that. The children could see and hear the beauty, but were hurried on by the parents. We could all do with a reconnection to that little child within us and stop and smell the roses once in a while. I can still see the fairies in the flowers, not that I tell anyone, they would think I am bonkers.
Have a great break from blogging, I shall miss you.
Sandi
That's stunnningly thought-provoking, isn't it? I am always telling hubby to slow down, especially at the weekend, but he feels he wants to fill it with '60 seconds worth of distance run' before he has to go back to work on Monday, which I understand, but maybe if he slowed down a bit he wouldn't need to take so many pain killers!
Don't stay away to long Missis - your country needs you!
I reiterate the last comment: don't stay away too long. Have a good break.
An amazing post and so true. We are all guilty of missing the beauty around us. Enjoy your break, but don't be gone too long....I will miss my giggle!
What a brilliant post and oh how so true....a lesson to be learnt from us all!xxx
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