i was taught a month ago....

Non-Phish General
#1

…to bide my time and take it slow :wink:

Violinist in the Metro

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 thousands of 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 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 best 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 his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and 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 an 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?

#2

That’s interesting. I think I’ve heard about this study. The only problem I have with it is the fact that it was during rush hour in the subway. Would you really expect that many people to stop and listen when they’re rushing somewhere?

Wonder what he did with the $32 though

#3

Wow. I’ve always thought perception to be a virtue. This proves my theory.

Where did you find this??

#4

Thanks.

#5

I read that article in the post last year. the weekend edition had a 4 page article on it…pretty amazing. I used to transfer at L’Enfant Plaza every morning and wish I had been there to see that.

The full article admitted that 3 or 4 people actually recognized him, and that one woman ran up and hugged him, asked him what the hell he was doing in the Metro station.

Still crazy though that so many people just paid no attention.

#6

The original is in the Washington Post Archives, it was originally published on Apr 8, 2007. You have to purchase the article from their archives now, but you might be able to find it elsewhere.

#7

was emailed to me by a friend but snopes claims it’s legit:

http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/bell.asp

#8

I think this mostly shows that some music isn’t as interesting as some people think it is.

#9
#10

I’ve done it before.

#11

That’s the issue. Is getting to work on time really more important than experiencing life to its fullest?

When I wake up early in the morning,
Lift my head,i’m still yawning.
When I 'm in the middle of a dream,
Stay in bed float up stream.
Please don’t wake me,no don’t shake me,
Leave me where I am, I’m only sleeping.
Everybody seems to think I’m lazy. I don’t mind,
I think they’re crazy.
Running everywhere at such a speed.
Till they find,there’s no need.
Please don’t spoil my day, I’m on my way.
And after all, I’m only sleeping.

Keeping an eye on the world going by my window,
Taking my time,lying there and staring at the ceiling,
Waiting for the sleepy feeling.
Please don’t spoil my day, I’m miles away.
And after all, I’m only sleeping.
Keeping an eye on the world going by my window.
Taking my time,when I wake up early in the morning,
Lift my head,i’m still yawning.
When I’m in the middle of a dream,stay in bed,float
Up stream.
Please don’t wake me, no don’t shake me, leave me where I am
I’m only sleeping.

#12

i’m very sensitive to the pressures of society as in, i feel them strongly. i don’t necessarily abide by them, as i’ve found some way to kind of do my own thing for the most part. but most people i know live like rats on a wheel. that’s not a judgement call at all either, as it’s very necessary for most people. but i do think there’s a choice to slow down when you can, and a lot of people don’t know how to do that for hardly a minute because they’ve been going, going, going for so long. i don’t know how to say what i’m tryin to say. really interesting article though for sure.

#13

I think about things like this alot actually. When I was growing up, my parents never pointed out a beautiful sunset or an architecturally fascinating building, or a flock of hundreds of birds soaring in unison overhead. They were always rushing us to somewhere or from somewhere and I guess it never entered their conciousness to do so. I try my very best to point interesting or beautiful happenings out to my daughter as much as possible. I think it’s super important for kids to understand just how beautiful our earth can be because as they age, they will be more inclined to take care of it if they appreciate it’s beauty. This may be off topic but in my mind, people ignoring a world famous violinist in the subway is a similar mindset: We’re too busy rushing through life to enjoy it.

#14

Maybe “those people” you all speak of are just older? We have to be careful here because we’re no wiser, no better really than anybody else no matter what we think we “get”. We don’t know “those people” that well anyway, who are we talking about here anyway our parents? our family? our friends? that’s no way to talk about those people anyway is it? I think “they” enjoy the sunsets and the flock of birds overhead just as much as you do, just not right when you were looking. How many times have you guys forgot to watch the sunset? plenty of times I’m sure, then someone is on a message board talking about how “people” don’t “get it” and “stop rushing” just because they saw you on a bad day.

hmmmmmmmmm

#15

^good point as well.

#16

^^^I personally was speaking about my parents. I can tell you those sorts of things don’t even enter their conciousness. They still don’t. I’m not exactly sure what’s wrong with saying this about them, but I digress.

And I agree with Icc. It’s a pretty common tale these days to be running so hard in the rat race because you’ve bitten off more than they can chew.

#17

i guess this goes with the idea that i have that most people don’t actually think about things for themselves. They don’t know what beauty or entertainment is unless someone tells them.

#18

^They also don’t know that the Federal Reserve is a private for profit company whose owners funded Hitler, Mao, and Stalin…

#19

What does age have to do with enjoying the simple and beautiful things in life?

#20

if you would only start to live one moment at a time
you would, i think, be startled by the things that you might find