Good morning. I recently read about an event which occurred a few years ago, and the story caused me to stop, and to think.
At the Washington DC Metro station, at a fairly busy time of the day, a violinist played music for the passers-bye. There was no question that the music was of high quality, and for those whose ears were trained to recognize such things, they would have appreciated that the violinist was playing some of the most beautiful music ever written. Most of his selections were composed by Johan Sebastian Bach.
Each piece was played brilliantly, for the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the finest and most renowned musicians in the world. He played his music on a violin valued at over 3.5 million dollars.
Mr. Bell played for over an hour with some 2,000+ people passing by. A few of them paused briefly to listen, but then hurried on their way. Others, about 20, put a dollar or two in the open violin case that was on the floor in front of the musician. When he was finished, a total of $32 in bills and change littered his case.
The people who were most intrigued by the music were small children. They did all they could to force their parents to stop for a moment so that they could listen, but each was pulled along by their mom or dad. None were given the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful music they were hearing.
Two days earlier, Joshua Bell had played at a sold-out concert hall in Boston. At that venue, the least expensive seat was priced at $100, but unless you purchased well in advance you would have to buy your tickets at a premium, with tickets selling for over $300.
The event was part of a social experiment proposed by the Washington Post regarding the question of people’s perception of beauty, and how their need to stop and appreciate what was beautiful and valuable was often offset by their perceived need to hurry through life. Are we able to recognize what is extraordinary and beautiful when our stress-imposed pace doesn’t allow us to slow down enough to see it, or to hear it, or to feel it?
There are many passages of scripture that tell us to slow down, and there are many others which speak of the beauty of God’s creation. The story just told reminded me of the command from Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
How will we ever “think of such things” if we are in too much of a rush to even notice them? There is beauty all around us, most especially to be found in the people we meet every day.
Take time today for appreciation. Soak in the beauty. Give praise to our creative Master.
Vern