Sometimes we can be blind or deaf in the midst of a blessing. And we don't even care what is happening around us because we have a job, a thing, or a schedule to catch up.
What an irony to pass up this kind of opportunity which seldom happened in our lives. But honestly, it happened all the time and it's really a sad thing to know about it.
This unique blog is a true story that I've read from another blog about a famous classical musician (world's famous young violinist Joshua Bell) who teamed-up with Washington Post to experiment about the meaning of "Perception" in our lives and I just wanted to share it to all of you.
Yes...... Life is always fluid, hectic, and spontaneous but we never stopped to appreciate the beauty of music that is rare around us eventhough it was already given to us for free. We even wanted to spend money to watch for a hundred or more dollar concert rather than the ones that was being played in the corners of the streets, a train station, mall lobbies, etc. (for free).
We tend to be immersed and engrossed with our busy schedules and forgot to appreciate the raw music that were being offered to us everywhere and we even neglected to recognize some of the key and important people (playing incognito in a public place) who were very famous because of our individual preoccupations, hang-ups, frustrations, and stressful situations.
Like Joshua Bell, a famous violinist who set out himself in a public place and experimented something in a Metro Train station in Washington DC.... he tried to pretend playing music in front of the train station's door and wasn't even recognized by some of the passersby and was even mistaken as a beggar playing music for money.
How appropriate to equate this situation with our individual lives? How insensitive that some of us could not appreciate about the beauty of raw music available to us for free? How immersed are we for our own individual hang ups? How embarrassing to know that everyone of us didn't appreciate the gift and benefits of music? A lot of how's and why's that we can only answer.
Here is a little story about that little experiment by Joshua Bell. Hope this will serve you a lesson. Thanks to "Gina of RoseThistleArtwork" for posting this on her blog. And I would like to share this to all my blog followers, too. A very touching story full of life's lessons. Hopefully, it will make us realize the beauty of music and savor the time to pause and amuse. Enjoy!
Note: Just click the link after you read the short story below about that little inspiring experiment. Thanks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMyXfdk_Fp8
"....... Something To Think About.........."
Washington, DC Metro Station: On a cold January morning in 2007, a handsome young man with a shiny wooden violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: A woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
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 all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
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.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
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.
This is a true 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 people's priorities.
The questions raised:
*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*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?
I love this story and I hope you enjoyed reading it, too. Thank you for your continued patronage. May this serve as a lesson to us to appreciate music even in the most unwanted places and inopportune time.. Thanks again!
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