Absolute Fantasy

Missing Beauty All Around

Another AMAZING inbox story I have to share with you all:

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning.. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried on to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

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

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 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.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best 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 his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.
The outlines were: 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 of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

I'm taken back.  Are you?

Be sure to click the link to read the article and watch the video.  Thank you so much Washington Post!

I was tagged--and you may be next!

(Photos from Google Images)

I have to admit,  I'm such a baby blogger, or "greenie", in my case.   I wasn't exactly sure what tagging meant until I visited with my "tagger" Kappa Prep over at her adorable blog Monograms and Manicures.   Can I call you my "blog sister"?  I'm telling you, we were separated at birth!

Now, here are the rules:

1.  Link the person who tagged you and post the rules.

2.  Share 5 songs you like and are embarrassed to admit to others--and tell why you like it.

3.  Tag 5 others at the end and give a link to their blog.

4.  Let the other 5 know you've tagged them by leaving them a comment on their blog.  

Here I go, ugh, this is so embarrassing! 

1.  Paradise City, by Gun'n'Roses--can you believe it!  This one just makes me want to dance--and not my usual ballet!

2.  Mother, by Danzig--It's just his voice--makes you think of Jim Morrison.

3.  Cabaret, sung by Liza Minellli--I admit, I belt this one out loud when I hear it.  I think I secretly want to be on Broadway.

4.  Hit Me Baby, One More Time, a Britney Spears one--oh, gee, did I just admit to that one?  Actually, the song "has a great beat and you can dance to it".  

5.  Butterfly Kisses--I cried the first time I heard it--but then, it was so overplayed, I wanted to scream.  The story was sweet, though.  

Now for these five:  Tag, You're it!  Visit these blogs when you can.  They are all unique and inspiring.  

1st The Pink Clutch

2nd Pearls and Grace

3rd  Mrs. Blandings

4th This is Glamorous

5th  Preppy Pink Crocodile