Beauty is everywhere if we slow down to see it.
The question is, do you see it?
Consider this…You’re on your morning commute and you notice a man in the subway station playing a violin. He’s wearing a baseball cap, jeans and a t-shirt, standing by a trash can…Do you walk by in a rush without really noticing, oblivious, or do you take a moment to stop, to listen – to really appreciate the music and the moment?
That was exactly the question that Gene Weingarten wanted answered in his experiment for the Washington Post. Only in this case (unknown to the commuters) the violinist was Joshua Bell, considered to be one of the best musicians in the world, playing a violin worth $3.5 million.
Of the more than 1000 people that passed by in the 43 minutes that the musician played, SEVEN stopped (yep- that’s right…only seven) for at least a minute. The rest rushed by, oblivious that what they were seeing was extraordinary, once in a lifetime. A free concert from a master whose talents can command $1000 a minute.
Revealingly, the one who paid the most attention to the musician was a 3 year old boy. His mother rushed him along, while he continued to look back at the musician. Other children had the same reaction, but were ushered on impatiently by their parents.
So the question is, if we’re so busy, so rushed to notice one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the most beautiful music ever written, just what else are we missing?
Read the full article here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
