Would you go to a free concert if one of the world's most talented musicians was playing? What if he was playing a famous violin valued at $3.5 million? Most of us with a taste for such music would say, "Yes."
But what if you took the musician out of the concert hall and placed him in a D.C. subway station, would you stop and listen?
The Washington Post staged the above experiment, where Joshua Bell played for 45 minutes. In that time, only seven people stopped to take in the performance for more than a minute. Twenty-seven gave money for a total of $32. The other 1,070 people hurried by, oblivious, with few even turning to look.
According to the article, "Bell noted, 'At a music hall, I'll get upset if someone coughs or if someone's cellphone goes off. But here, my expectations quickly diminished. I started to appreciate any acknowledgment, even a slight glance up. I was oddly grateful when someone threw in a dollar instead of change.' This is from a man whose talents can command $1,000 a minute."
What are we missing on a daily basis that is equally, if not more special than this? Maybe it's an extra moment embracing a loved one before work? Or taking time to watch your children perform? Or pulling over to watch a sunset? Or actually listening to people when they talk to us instead of checking our cell phones?
Beauty comes to us in all shapes and sizes - the question is, are we taking the time to see it?
2 comments:
when I did a 300+ mile backpacking trip through Virginia, where it rained A LOT I learned that beauty isn't just the big glorious things like a radiant sunset or a dramatic waterfall or majestic mountain - I found beauty in the forest that wasn't as overt. Then again I found that beauty because, well, there was nothing else to do.
I love it! I remember hiking a section of the AT and being awestruck by how green and lush it was...oddly by the end of the trip I wanted to see something brown...if only for the contrast.
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