Lessons in life
Take one moment in time...
Time is precious and we are all in a mighty big rush to complete our
work for the day. Sometimes the 24 hours in a day may not seem to be
enough to meet our
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Joshua Bell |
deadlines and complete our chores. How often have you
wished there were more hours in a day? Plenty of times may be. Even as
children most of you who are burdened with school work, homework,
extra-curricular activities and of course chores around the house may
feel as if time is flying and you are being cheated out of life, with no
time to really enjoy.
It is a fact that most people today are loaded with work and are
struggling to keep pace with their hectic lifestyles; they have little
or no time to enjoy the simple things in life. How often have you taken
a moment in time to admire the beauty of sunset or sunrise, feel the
cold wet sand under your feet on the beach, hear the ocean’s rhythmic
roar, watch a butterfly gather nectar, listen to the sweet melody of a
bird or the gurgling sound of a stream winding its way down to the
mighty ocean? Perhaps, never. It is so unfortunate because all these
thing and many more wonderful things around us can be enjoyed freely, if
only we take time to do so. However, it does seem as though we who pay
little or no attention to the freely available niceties in life would
readily pay any amount of money for the same thing when it comes all
wrapped up in an attractive package.
The following is a good example of how exactly we miss out on some of
the best things in life given to us free of charge.
Rush hour; no time to listen
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 a
musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and
then hurried up 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 three 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 six 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.
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Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station. |
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the top
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
theatre 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?
When you thought
I wasn’t looking..:
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make my
favourite cake for me and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn’t
feel well and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw tears come
from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it’s all right to cry.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you
cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I learned most of
life’s lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I looked at you and
wanted to say,”Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn’t looking.”
--Author unknown |
