Perception

Washington, DC Metro Station: On a cold January morning a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about an hour. During that time 1,097 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes: a middle-aged man noticed the musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried on.

4 minutes: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw the money in the hat without stopping and continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and walked away.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The child stopped to look back at the violinist again, but the mother pulled hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head back 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. No one knew this... 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.

Three days before he appeared at the Metro station, Bell had filled the house at Boston's Symphony Hall, where merely pretty-good seats went for $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 common place environment, at an inconvenient hour, do we perceive the value of what is going on around us? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?"Do you have time to appreciate beauty?

If people do not take 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?

The first time I read this story it really struck me the fact that I myself have missed so many opportunities in life to appreciate beauty in all its forms. It is with great sadness that I have to admit that I would have probably been another passerby who missed beauty. Having lived in NYC for more than six years, I considered many of the occasional street performers to be part of the cityscape. I rarely stopped my commute to listen to their performances and although I would donate a buck or two out of respect (or maybe because I felt bad for them); I never stopped to appreciate their talents, their music, the beauty of the performance.

Only on my weekend commutes if I had time, I would actually stop and enjoy the musicians wanna-bes. How sad!

May we each dedicate ourselves to seeing and appreciating the outstanding performances of our husbands, wives, family members, colleagues and students that play out all around us every day!

What is this life if... full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies