:: A Must Read - Awareness ::
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 1,100 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, and 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 tagged 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 most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most
intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell
sold out at a theater in Boston where 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 a social
experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines
were: 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?
- Kristof Burm
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