Three minutes went by and a middle aged man
noticed there was 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 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 them 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 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 theater in Boston and the seats average $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?

TRUE STORY !!!