I'm one of the guilty people who is constantly on the go, trying to do it all ... and I love it.
I will admit though, that sometimes I'm too busy to notice some of the more important things in life. I generally hate the silly trivia emails that people send but my husband sent one and he knows how I feel, so I knew it must be worth reading.
It was ... and it was also worth sharing, as I'm sure there are a large number of other Type As out there.
A Violinist in the Metro
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 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, 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 dragged 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 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 earlier, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats average $100.
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 goal was to see if ... 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?
How true this story resonated for me. Think about the story and decide if you would have stopped to listen?
As busy as I am, I know that at least once a week I do enjoy recognizing that I have stopped to see the rainbow, to listen to the waves (I love to take the scenic drive along the ocean between my home in Hampton, NH and Portsmouth ... what I think of as a special treat during the daytime). Writing this now, I also feel good as I know this is one of the few things I would stop for in the Tokyo subways, maybe because I remained fascinated by all the cultural differences even after living there for 3 years.
I invite you to find more time this year, to find and appreciate the simple things in life.
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