Recently:  A man sat alone at a Metro station (Subway System) 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 several thousand 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 music being
played. 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 after that, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the
man looked at his watch and started to walk away. 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 the
kids 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 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 appropriate 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?
Only seven people stopped to listen from thousands passing by, and just one of
them recognized the performer. Joshua Bell

 BTW: Have you ever stopped to listen to what is being played for you on your pathway of life?  
 
 When will you stop to listen or why not?    This is your dilemma...