Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Appreciate The Small Things


It is so important to appreciate the small things in life, isn't it?  One thing I love about blogging is that it gives me the opportunity to document the small things and receive "small things" in comments that  brighten my day.  I came across this story on Facebook this morning and had to share it with you guys.  It really made me stop and think... goosebumps will do that to you.

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A man stood in a metro station in Washing DC playing a violin on a cold January morning.  For 45 minutes, he played six Bach pieces.  During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that about 1,100 people went through their station - most on their way to work.

Three minutes passed.  A middle-aged man noticed music, slowed his pace, stopped for a few seconds, and hurried off.  A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip by a women who threw the money in without stopping.  A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him play.  He looked at his watch, realized he was late for work, and shuffled off.  The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy.  His mother was rushing him along, but the child stopped to listen.  The mother kept pushing the child to walk.  Several other children tried to stop and listen while their parents forced them to move on.  

In the 45 minutes while the violinist played, only 6 people stopped.  About 20 people gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace.  He collected $32.  When he finished playing, silence took over and no one noticed that the music had stopped.  There was no applause or recognition.  

Nobody knew, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world.  He had just played one of the most intricate and difficult pieces ever written on a violin worth $3.5 million.  Two days before playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where seats averaged $100 each.


This is a real story.  Joshua Bell playing incognito in a metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities.  The goal was to determine if, 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 possible conclusion from this experiment could be... if we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music every written, what else are we missing?


This story gave me chills...I hate to think what all I have missed.  What extraordinary moments have I overlooked because I was busy?   It's the little things, guys.   
 
 It's a sleeping puppy sticking the tip of his tongue out for no reason...

It's a really good lunch.

It's waking up in the morning.  

What are your little things? 

I'm linking this post up with the Wish Out Loud Blog Hop!  {You still have 4 days to link up and make a wish!}  My wish is that I stop letting the little things pass me by...I wish the same for you.  


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8 comments:

Meg @ Mr.C and Me said...

love this story. heard it before & it's still amazing. i think yo yo ma did it once too. :)

Amber said...

LOVE this! Such a great reminder of what we are overlooking every day that the Lord has created. We definitely need to take notice of the simple things because they can most certainly be the most beautiful.

Nobody said...

LOVE this!! Thanks for sharing honey boo boo child!

Allison said...

I love this story! It gives me chills too! I hope that I would stop, but I'm not sure if I would. That's a great wish for us to all remember!

Amira said...

Great, great post! Thanks for sharing girly, it gave me goosebumps!

bonbon said...

Awesome post! It really does make you stop and think. What an interesting experiment!

♥ ♥ Just a Girl in Love w/ a Soldier ♥ ♥ said...

Who this is awesome and really makes you stop and think about life around us and whats going on. I wonder how much I miss in just a day by being in my own little world. Thanks for the reminder.

Unknown said...

Eye-opening for sure... what an awesome post! Thanks for linking up!