Are we all in too much of a rush? What do we miss as we rush through life ? I thought the message contained in a friends business email was worth blogging.
ARE WE ALL IN TOO MUCH RUSH TO APPRECIATE THE BEAUTY OF LIFE?
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 thousands of 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 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 top 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 his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station
It 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?
MACLEOD PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT www.ajmacleod.com
Alistair Macleod is the Author of ‘Never Die Wondering’
www.livehappier.com for some interesting reading by Barrie Hopson.
7 Responses
Wendy Keller
Thanks for that Carmel , a great story and so true
Carmel
Lovely to have you comment Wendy. We all need a reminder now again to stop for just a few moments in our busy lives (and we are all busy these days) to marvel over our lives. The blue cloudless sky, the extraordinary sunsets we are given in Queensland at the end of each day, the endearing words of children and grandchildren and of course the horses which bless our lives. I tell all my friends if life hands you a special moment for example if the horses are doing something flashy, funny or tender stop and savor the moment as they will be memories to share with others and something to treasure forever. I know you think along the same vein as I do Wendy thanks so much for your comment.
Jenny Gallup-King
Just bad time management; few people (me included!) ever allow enough extra time for these things, always in a rush to appointments or work etc. A very poignant experiment. Thanks Carmel for sharing.
Jenny Gallup-King
The other day whilst watering the garden, a little bird (Wren I think) kept swooping down from our solitary little tree in our bare new garden. He would fly down onto the ground near me and up again, over and over as if trying to tell me something. I so wished I could have followed him to where he was trying to take me, I felt frustrated about it but as there was nothing I could do, I just enjoyed his company and beauty. He even let me follow him from tree to fence, trying to photograph him which I eventually did and you will find it on my wall. It was a moving experience and although I sometimes curse having to look after the garden, it definitely has some benefits!!
Carmel
At times I think we all rush through life, it seems we are all time poor. I guess the knack is to know you’re inclined to do this and now and again stop yourself and photograph or just enjoy what’s around you.
Jenny, I think we were both chasing wrens recently. I finally snapped some photographs of our blue wrens on the weekend. I had been stalking them for months. They flit around so quickly I was having difficulty to focus before they were gone. I’ll have to post them one of these days. Thanks for sharing it’s always a delight to read what you have to say.
Jenny Gallup-King
Thanks Carmel, I missed this as was so busy organising my holiday (puppies, mum-in-law and of course me!) Thanks for your kind words and I look forward to seeing photos of your wrens – they are such a pretty bird!
Raghu
A fact of life. Things given to us on a platter is hardly appreciated. We mortals are immersed in our own world and do not care to appreciate any thing beyond what we like to see. Anyway it was a wonderful story which has a lesson for all of us…………………….