Enjoy life NOW .. it has an expiration date

THE SITUATION 
In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: 

The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 


At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.


At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.


At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.


After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.



No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.


 

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. 

This experiment raised several questions: 



*In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? 


*If so, do we stop to appreciate it? 


*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? 



One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?



Enjoy life NOW... it has an expiration date

Source: http://www.interestingemails.com/perception/

Jim's Reflection:

• This is a very interesting experiment. Very true reflection of what is happening around us everyday. We are all so busy with our daily schedules that we don’t really stop, pause and enjoy what we already have in the present.

• Very often we tell ourselves, let me complete what I have to do first. Let me earn all the $ now and I will enjoy life later. Well, practical and true sometimes but don’t overdo it. Sometimes when we rush through life, we will miss a lot of important and wonderful things along the way. All of us are very busy with work. Many are doing work they don't like because they want to earn lots of $ to buy things they don't need, so that they can impress people who doesn't really care! Slow down...The definition of success is not about the man with the most money! It's about a life well lived. Enjoy the beauty around us once in a while. We are moving a bit too quickly...Slow down....

• Be aware of your priorities and make sure your “means to an end” don’t become “an end” in itself. Hmmm…let me rephrase that. Why do we work so hard? Why do we want to succeed? Often, our greatest, desire is to provide for and contribute to our family, to deliver security and comfort. If working hard is your “means” to provide a better life for your family, then make sure you remember that whatever you do is for your family. Don’t let your work (or earning lots of $) be your obsession (becoming an end itself) and forget about why or who you do it for. Very often people say that their family and relationships are important to them, but their actions don’t really match that values or actions.