Sometimes you stumble across a story that causes you pause. This latest one for me took place on 8 April 2007. The Washington Post decided to conduct an experiment about beauty. You can read the full article and see the videos here. The editors at the Post wanted to see if people when confronted with a true act of beauty would recognize it. So they hired 39 year old Joshua Bell, an internationally acclaimed virtuoso, to play Bach's "Chanconne" on Kreisler's violin (valued at $3.2 million) at Metro's L'Enfant Plaza Station during morning rush hour. Dressed as a street performer, the Post set a camera and watched as he performed a 43 minute concert. A compressed version of that video is displayed below. They tabulated how much money he brought in and how many people stopped to watch him play. Bell's haul for his music was a meager $32.17. Only a handful of people stopped to listen and only one person recognized him.
After reading this and watching the videos I sat in silent reflection. How could this be? I may know little about classical music and even less about the violin, but I recognize the skill this individual has is something special. But if I was faced with the same situation as all those that just casually walked by, would I act no differently? Of course my heart screams that I would have stopped, for fear of letting something so beautiful pass one by. But the experiment brings up an interesting discussion. How often do we pause in our lives to just enjoy the moment? Do we notice the vibrant fall colors, or pause to breath in the heavy sea air during sunset? When was the last time you paused and just closed your eyes and let the sounds, smells, and textures around you take center stage? This article while inspirational should serve to remind us all of the beauty around us. We can't become so engrossed in our jobs, our destinations, or our technology that we forget that the present is what today is all about.
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