DAY 156 - BEAUTY IN THE ODDEST PLACE

Day 156

Last week, my friend Anna sent me one of these slideshows with a message.  I researched the story and found it very inspiring, so I 've decided to share it with you.

Last January, on a cold winter day, a man stood next to a trash can at L'Enfant Plaza subway station in Washington D.C.  He looked very ordinary, wearing a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a baseball cap.  He began playing the violin.  He started with a piece from Bach, continued with Shubert's Ave Maria and then went on to play some Manuel Ponce and Massenet.

It was 8 o'clock in the morning and most people passing by him were on their way to work.  Many of them were middle-class government employees.  In 45 minutes, 1000 people went by him.

After three minutes, a man slowed down and listened for a few seconds and then left without leaving any money.  One minute later, the violinist received his first dollar when a woman, who was walking passed him gave him money without stopping.  A few minutes later, a man leaned on the wall to listen to him, then after looking at his watch, he left.  

In the 45 minutes that the man played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run, for a total of $32 and change.

At the end of the performance, nobody applauded.  Out of 1000 people, only one person recognized that it was Joshua Bell, one of the best violinists on the planet.  And that, on that day,  he played Bach's "Chaconne" which is considered one of the most difficult violin pieces to master.

Two days earlier, he was playing at a theatre in Boston and the tickets were being sold at an average of 100 dollars a seat.

This event was organized by the Washington Post  as part of a 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 exceptional things pass us by without us realizing it?

Maybe we should start paying more attention to our surroundings... who knows what kind beauty we could end up discovering!!

Here's the link to the You Tube video of the event: Joshua Bell in the Subway