In Washington, D.C., at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007,
this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that
time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their
way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a
musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he
hurried on to meet his schedule. About 4 minutes later:
The
violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and,
without stopping, continued to walk. At 6 minutes:
A young
man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and
started to walk again. At 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 the whole time. This action was repeated by several other
children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move
on quickly.
At 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.
After 1 hour:
He finished playing and
silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no
recognition at all.
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 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true
story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized
by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste
and people's priorities.
This experiment raised several
questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an
inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, 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 as we rush through
life? Enjoy life NOW… it has an expiration date