Perception


On a cold January 12 morning in 2007 at
Washington, DC, L'Enfant Metro Station.

The man with a 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. Clearly he didn't want to be late for work.

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.

In the 45 minutes the musician played continuously, only 7 people stopped and listened for a short while and only one recognized the performer. About 27 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. He collected a total of $32.17 for his efforts.

When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed. No one applauded.

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 1713 Stradivarius violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Three days prior to this "Concert in the Subway", Joshua Bell sold out the "Boston Symphony Hall" 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:

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?

The Washington Post won a Pulitzer in the feature writing category for Gene Weingarten's April 2007 story about this experiment.

Check it out on Snopes for the true, awesome story. http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/bell.asp

Very, very thought provoking.  How does that go again,
"Stop and smell the flowers.........?"

Food for thought!!!!! Not an appetizer...not an entree....and not dessert. Perhaps humble pie for some and for others, something to choke on. For sure, what else are we missing in life?

Courage does not always roar; sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day that says "I will try again TOMORROW"