An awesome lesson

rayodeluz

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Nothing religious about this post, just a compelling feeling to share it.......


THE SITUATION:.
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In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
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About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk...

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again...
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At 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 the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly...
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At 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..
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After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all..
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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 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
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This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
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This experiment raised several questions:
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*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
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*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
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*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
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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 as we rush through life?.
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Enjoy life NOW ... it has an expiration date.
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Snopes verifies this as TRUE
 

EphesiaNZ

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Interesting, lets reverse this one. I wonder how many world class violinists or musicians would stop and watch the beauty of a skilled mechanic repairing a diesel engine on a passenger train stuck at the station.

We all miss oh so much beauty and detail due to our busy way of life.
 
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Lem29

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Interesting, lets reverse this one. I wonder how many world class violinists or musicians would stop and watch the beauty of a skilled mechanic repairing a diesel engine on a passenger train stuck at the station.

We all miss oh so much beauty and detail due to our busy way of life.

Interesting point, but not really the "reverse." A musician is a performer, and having people watch is part of the paradigm, whether in a concert hall or performing on the street. That's not really true of a mechanic -- no matter how much of an artist the mechanic is.

Lem
 
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EphesiaNZ

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Interesting point, but not really the "reverse." A musician is a performer, and having people watch is part of the paradigm, whether in a concert hall or performing on the street. That's not really true of a mechanic -- no matter how much of an artist the mechanic is.

Lem

I see that point true but, they both have a trade which they apply in their everyday life - it's the values that people have that make them stop and appreciate things. As noticed in the original post, hardly anyone stopped to appreciate the violinist - even though he was a world class one!

Probably the experiment was a bit false anyway as we all know when we're busy and have to get to work that we tend to have little time to appreciate anything. Maybe someone should get say Philip Glass to perform some of his piano pieces in a shopping mall and see what reaction he gets from passers by?
 
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