This
really should make us all stop and think about time to smell the coffee,
something I am only too well aware of since having had a cancer
diagnosis!
Perception
Something
to think about... really worth spending a minute
Washington, DC
Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. 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. 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. 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. 1
hour: He finished
playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there
any recognition. 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. 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: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do
we perceive beauty? 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?
FormerMember
Nice one Foxilady. I totally agree we should all take some time to notice our surroundings and what's going on in the world around us. Too much rushing about nowadays. Have to say I'm guilty of it myself, but do try to consider others.
This will certainly make me try to be more considerate in life.
Indeed. I have learned through cancer with my mother and now with Dave, to sit an just embrace the sweetness life has to offer me. But I must admit, that there were times in my life that were overwhelmingly busy and full with obligations and I can see how we could miss a lot.
We should savour each minute we have. I love autumn and have always loved walking through the autumn leaves on the floor...... which is what i did last week and I didn't give a damn what people thought!!!!
Oh its sadly so true we walk around in our own little world. If we stopped just for one minute and take in what is going on around us in this beautiful world. We all would be a lot better off. Yes IT,S TIME TO SMELL THE COFFEE.
We were in Cardiff Bay a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful sunny day, and there were quite a few people around.
As we came into the main area we noticed a lovely collie dog. He had a ball in his mouth. Every so often he ran up to someone and put his head through their feet as they stood there. Obviously he wanted someone to throw his ball. This done, he ran to someone else and repeated the game.
Before long we all realised that he had brought in a huge circle of people all intrigued with what he was doing. He didn't seem to belong to anyone in the huge group until we noticed a lone gent sitting at the far end of the Bay, suposedly not involved, until finally when we all moved on noticed the dog and the man meet up and stroll off together.
It was perfectly obvious then that this dog had been trained to do this and the point of the excercise? He had us, all strangers to each other, laughing and smiling and chatting! We still laugh about it now
