The Beauty of What's in Front of You

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 thousands of 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 - then hurried 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, 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
tried to rush him, but the boy 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 best
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 his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a
theater in Boston and 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 an social experiment about
perception, taste and priorities of people. The themes were: in a
commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: How 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?

Ouch!

Try not to miss the beauty of life coming your way - it may be right in
front of you. Right now, in fact.



Kisah ini berlaku pada pagi Jumaat 12 Januari 2007.