Are you tuned in to the amazing things around us?
In Washington DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 1,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
"After about 3 minutes, a 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, and 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 child stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother and the child then continued to walk, the child turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - encouraged their children to move on quickly.
At the end after playing for about 45 min to an hour, only 6 people had 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 $32.00 He finished playing and silence took over.
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. "
(I believe at the end 1 person did recognise him and go and speak to him.)
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.
Are we tuned in to see how much good there is around us?