you've probably heard the "if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?", but what about "if a great musician plays great music but no one hears... was he really any good?"
that's what this very interesting article talks about. joshua bell, world famous violinist was asked to take part in washington post's study. one morning, he "dressed up" in jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt and a baseball cap, and played beautiful music on his million-dollar violin outside one of the metro stops in washington dc. what were the reactions? shockingly enough: not too many. excerpts from the article:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies
If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?
read the article, even though it is very long, it's worth thinking about what makes us stop and think in life. do we not notice when something beautiful passes right in front of us (or we pass right in front of it), but just keep being so extremely busy in our own lives that we forget to look around us. and as the article says, what else are we missing if we miss something so obviously close to us?
reminds me of this short post of mine...
I feel compelled to make a reference to where I am, and what I am experiencing. being so close to this beautiful place of spiritual significance, it's very easy to take things for granted. I try to keep myself aware of where I am, why I'm here, and what I'm doing. but tell you the truth, it's difficult at times, because it easily becomes routine/habit to just walk up to work, do your thing, and then come back home. it's important to keep one's head up, at all times, in case something passes by that you really shouldn't miss.
that's what this very interesting article talks about. joshua bell, world famous violinist was asked to take part in washington post's study. one morning, he "dressed up" in jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt and a baseball cap, and played beautiful music on his million-dollar violin outside one of the metro stops in washington dc. what were the reactions? shockingly enough: not too many. excerpts from the article:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies
If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?
read the article, even though it is very long, it's worth thinking about what makes us stop and think in life. do we not notice when something beautiful passes right in front of us (or we pass right in front of it), but just keep being so extremely busy in our own lives that we forget to look around us. and as the article says, what else are we missing if we miss something so obviously close to us?
reminds me of this short post of mine...
I feel compelled to make a reference to where I am, and what I am experiencing. being so close to this beautiful place of spiritual significance, it's very easy to take things for granted. I try to keep myself aware of where I am, why I'm here, and what I'm doing. but tell you the truth, it's difficult at times, because it easily becomes routine/habit to just walk up to work, do your thing, and then come back home. it's important to keep one's head up, at all times, in case something passes by that you really shouldn't miss.
so true...imagine all the beautiful things that have just passed us by because we were too busy to notice...imagine all of the missed opportunities, friendships, relationships,etc...its good to take a step back sometimes and just take a look around at the world which surrounds us. Enjoy some of the beautiful things you are sure to experience in the holyland. I'm jealous! :o)
ReplyDeleteA very wise man (who served at Bahá'u'lláh's Threshold for about 16 years) told me that the key to serving in Haifa is to NEVER let it become routine. He said "as soon as things become routine, get out of there". I think this applies not only to service in Haifa, but to a lot of other things as well.
ReplyDelete