AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT

On the 12th January, 2007 a man who was dressed casually in a T-shirt and baseball cap played his violin in a Metro station in Washington DC. He played six Bach pieces during the morning rush hour. He played on his 1713 Stradivarius violin, valued at around $3.5 million. His name? Joshua Bell, a world-famous classical violinist. The event was organized by the Washington Post and aimed to assess whether commuters would recognize and appreciate his talent.

What happened?

A middle-aged man noticed there was a musician but did not stop…

A woman threw a dollar in his till without stopping…

A few minutes later, someone leaned against a wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started walking again. Clearly, he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a three-year-old boy. His mother tugged him along, but he stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk. This action was repeated by several other children. All parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only six 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. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua sold out at a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

A question for ourselves; Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? Are we too rushed to pause and “smell the roses?” Do we pause to question whether we judge too hastily? What are we missing?

We humans are fickle, for example, when Jesus came to Jerusalem many took off their coats and laid them before Him. However, only a few days later, Jesus was alone and nailed to a cross…..