Did we miss anything today?
Sugata Chowdhuri
Empowering Career Growth: Bridging Education with Experience and Fostering Employability Skills.
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 a musician playing. He slowed his pace, 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 continued to walk without stopping. 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. Perhaps, he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurriedly, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, always turning his head. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 43 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk at their normal pace. He collected 32 US Dollars. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. no one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
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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 300-year-old violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a Boston theatre where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. In 2007 Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Washington DC metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about the perceptions, tastes, 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 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 in real life?