Seize the moment

It was in the Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. A man with a violin played six Bach pieces, for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle-aged took notice. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

Four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar; a woman threw the money in the hat and without stopping, she continued to walk.

Six minutes later, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

After 10 minutes, a 3-year old boy came to a halt; however, his mother tugged him along, hurriedly. He stopped to look back at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time.

Several other children repeated this action, and every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. Approximately 20 individuals gave money and continued to walk at their normal pace. In the end the violinist collected a total of $32. When he finished playing, a silence took over the station. No one noticed; no one applauded; no one gave any amount of recognition.

And no one knew this violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, using a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Just two days prior, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 per seat.
 Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception and priorities.

While there is an appropriate time and place for everything, it is healthy to take the opportunity to appreciate and acknowledge what’s happening around us, in the moment.

Time is a valuable commodity. Someone once stated: “Time is significant because it is so rare.  It is completely irretrievable.  You can never repeat it or relive it.  There is no such thing as a literal instant replay.  That appears only on film. It travels alongside us every day”

Today’s challenge: What you do you enjoy most about today?