Found this on Google+. Taking photo perhaps is the same thing, need to stop
and listen, and see,,,
Something to think about... We Are Missing A Lot In 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 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 theatre
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?
