Perception

THE SITUATION

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.


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.


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.


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.

After 1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

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 $200 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.


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.

This experiment raised several questions:

* In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

* If so, 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 as we rush through life?


Think About It.....

God doesn't give you the people you want,

Instead, he gives you the people you need,

To teach you, to hurt you, to love you, and

to make you exactly the way you should be.



Received via email from my Dad

This was fascinating!! Shows how much people take stock into what other think and do.

Love your new avatar CG!

CinnamonGirl wrote: This was fascinating!! Shows how much people take stock into what other think and do.

Agreed and more. Years ago I likely would have been part of the onrushing crowd. Today no longer. I look to celebrate each beautiful event in my life, regardless of other's perception. Life is far too fleeting and furthermore, there is tremendous pleasure in recognizing the gifts one is given. I could care less what others think of me (as so eloquently expressed by some here on certain threads) for it is they who are part of the herd. They misses out on the best life offers and are too ignorant to even know it.

Thanks for sharing your e-mail and thoughts on this ShiloLady. Joshua Bell. I listened to him in Denver last time he was here. Fascinating story for sure.

There is even a video.
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I think we are more and more becoming victims of 'tunnel vision'. Even on my 'relaxing' walks around the neighborhood, I find myself passing right by some beautiful roses or lilacs, until the smell finally wakes me up!

We really do need to 'stop and smell the roses'!

Amazing! Thank you Shilo for the thread and Pindust for the video. This was an interesting experiment! The sad part about it is, of course, the results. I doesn't surprise me in the least though. Most people SEE WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE - HEAR WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR - and PERCEIVE WHAT THEY WANT TO PERCEIVE. This doesn't surprise me in the least. I've seen it all to often. You don't have to go far to see examples of this. The people who choose to live their lives like this are missing out on so much, but it is their choice.

Recently our family was in NYC. While waiting for a subway we graciously took a few moments and listened to a musician who "appeared" to be homeless play the violin. While he didn't sound overly experienced we still gave him the respect of listening, donating money, and acknowledging his offering of his talents with a smile and a nod. Common courtesy folks. And the gift he gave us was the experience of that moment in time.