What are we missing?

[SteveJM]

A friend of mine shared this story, and I thought you might like it.


A man sat at a metro station 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 1,100 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 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, and 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 most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where 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 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?

[Kathy_57]

Steve, I was reading this and thinking to myself, how much do we miss out in life because we did not stop to listen to the still small voice of God. Just as these folks that passed by this world renown musician missed out, we too miss out, when we allow the distractions of this life to prevent us from spending time with God listening to His still small voice.

Reminds me of Martha and Mary - We need to more like Mary!

[livin_in_the_Son]

Steve, I was reading this and thinking to myself, how much do we miss out in life because we did not stop to listen to the still small voice of God. Just as these folks that passed by this world renown musician missed out, we too miss out, when we allow the distractions of this life to prevent us from spending time with God listening to His still small voice.

Reminds me of Martha and Mary - We need to more like Mary!

My husband says I need to be more like Martha!

[micah719]

Ah, we were all three years old, once. Young, innocent, naive, trusting, inquisitive, appreciative. Whatever happened?



The world, the flesh, and the devil........but then along came The Lord. Thank God!!!

Oh, to hear the divine melodies of Bach, at a good price too....wish I'd been there.



p.s. the pic is of micah719 in pre-beard days when the world was somehow different; at the beach with his beloved Daddy, who passed away 25th Feb 1990. The Lord giveth, The Lord taketh, blessed be the Name of The Lord.

[SteveJM]

I'm liking the response posts. Here is how I responded to my friend, who lives in India. We share an interest in our faith and in photography. It's a little long, I hope you don't mind.


"How very true, and a wake up call for all who will take the time to consider and meditate on. That's one of the great benefits to photography, as it does help train you to be more aware of your surroundings and appreciate what often goes unnoticed. We do need to slow down. It's so easy to get tunnel vision in the quest to meet our planned goals.

One morning, before this last Christmas, I moved into the check out lane at a toy store, I had other things to do and places to go, but what often happens when you move from one check out lane, that seems to be moving slow, to another one? You move even slower. I was behind an African American woman who was probably in her fifties, and with her, I assumed was her mother. The woman had several similar small items that she kept changing her mind on while at the cash register. At first I thought, "Come on," but then I made the decision to relax and forget time.

I stood there for several minutes soaking up what this woman was doing, and I could tell that she was stressed. Her mother looked at me a few times, and seemed to be sizing me up, wondering how I'm reacting to her daughters indecision. I smiled at the mother to offer her some insight and relief. I wanted to speak to the presumed mother, and wish I would have. They didn't say a word to me, neither did I to them. How many times do we miss opportunities to talk to a stranger or even an acquaintance because we are on a "mission?" How many times do we make eye contact with a stranger and refrain from speaking? There is still here in America, and sadly it is, often a divide between those who are of different race or ethnic backgrounds. I felt like these were good folks and inside I yearned to be able to connect with them, but it was early, I had much to do, and after all I was just in a toy store checking out. That's how we often rationalize our actions or inaction. I felt uncomfortable with the silence and the apparent divide. I knew it wasn't right. I remember when I worked for a ministry in Chicago and was on visitation, that it was a poor black woman who sat me down at her table with her children, and prepared for me a breakfast. I had similar experiences with a poor Vietnamese mother and an Indian family. The fact is that there is only one race, the human race.

To get back to the story, I considered what this woman in front of me was doing. She was trying very hard to make the best decision she could in her selection of gifts, and was very concerned with the cost. By the fact that most of the gifts were the same, I assumed that they were probably for her grandchildren, or who knows perhaps a Sunday School class. My heart was warmed as I considered the love that she was displaying for whoever the many gifts were intended for. I came out of the store thankful.

Sometimes, oftentimes, we need to be more adaptable to our circumstances, be able to put the brakes on and take in what is in front of us. God just may be wanting to show us something, to teach us something, to offer us a great gift. Just to imagine, passing up on a free concert from one of the finest musicians, playing great classical music on an instrument that is valued at millions of dollars, or passing up on an opportunity to meet someone new and engage them in conversation.

Now, I have spent good deal of time gathering my thoughts and putting them carefully down in words. If nobody reads this, it's still been a good use of my time, for I've slowed down and reconsidered my experience, and how I need to change in the future. Do you have something to share? You must. Please share, take your time, which is really God's time, and share with us. Take the time to stop, say hello, and interact with your brothers and sisters, and strangers. May God bless you."

[Carl]

Okay Steve the woman spoke to you via your heart. Wonder if you gave them the message of patience? That would be a fair exchange wouldn't it?

Yes writing my thoughts down can and has really given me some insights. Was doing 4th step work in AA. Getting nowhere. Then I sat down and started writing out of my boyhood, and earlier years of drinking. Wrote stories about me and my experiences. Both good and bad. Where bad I figured out why and then decided that there was no blame necessary that I had looked at it wrong. The good I found that I was more valuable than I thought and not a total failure. Something about thinking and then writing what we think.

God bless you Steve for the violin and the check out line.

[mattfivefour]

The beautiful thing, Steve, was that you looked outward, not inward. You consciously abandoned your own needs and desires to consider someone else's. This is the Spirit of Christ in you. When you did so, you accomplished three things: 1] You lightened the load of both the mother and the mother's mother ; 2] you experienced the pleasure of Christ in giving—not material things as we so often think—but of your self (and I have purposely separated those two words: "your" and "self"); and 3] you moved a little closer that day toward the sanctification you desire and the working of God's will and purpose in your life. Would that we all were so sensitive at those moments to likewise reap such rich reward!

[anath]

I would have loved to hear the violinist play Bach!

[SteveJM]

Ah, we were all three years old, once. Young, innocent, naive, trusting, inquisitive, appreciative. Whatever happened?



The world, the flesh, and the devil........but then along came The Lord. Thank God!!!

Oh, to hear the divine melodies of Bach, at a good price too....wish I'd been there.



p.s. the pic is of micah719 in pre-beard days when the world was somehow different; at the beach with his beloved Daddy, who passed away 25th Feb 1990. The Lord giveth, The Lord taketh, blessed be the Name of The Lord.

That's a nice photo of you and your dad. Do you know where this was taken? Your dad took you with him and fished, and now you've become a fisher of men. You must have been very young when your dad passed away.

[livin_in_the_Son]

I was a violinist in a past life....not speaking reincarnation, but from 1984-1998, I played. I still have my violin with it's fake Stratavarius (spelling) label, and mother-of-pearl, horse-hair bow. It still is only worth something to me, and my skills are so rusty, only Jesus and God would be honored by my playing. (everyone else would have been more blessed if I quit). I would have listened all day to this man's playing....but I also would have dishonored my Lord by listening for more than my schedule allowed. It's one thing to 'stop and smell the roses', but when a life is DEFINED by that attitude, service in the Lord suffers as well.

Choosing to not mop the kitchen in order to play a game with a child is admirable, but to NEVER mop the kitchen for the same reason isn't so wonderful. Just wanted to share that, because sometimes positive messages can become a stumbling block for others.

Thanks for the story Steve because the whole shopping trip escapade (with 4 kids of my own) I can so relate. Often times I find myself telling the stressed out mom in front of me just how much I understand her frustration with an unruly child, and to not worry about my judging her capability as a mom.

And thanks for the picture Micah...if the little boy is you, how adorable! I always wanted my dad to take me fishing with him, but alas I am a girl. My consolation was that I got to dance with him at my wedding! Losing a parent is hard no matter what age or circumstances....but losing a daddy (or mommy) is worse.... my brother, beard and all.

[king'sbloomingrose]

Micah,

[micah719]

That's a nice photo of you and your dad. Do you know where this was taken? Your dad took you with him and fished, and now you've become a fisher of men. You must have been very young when your dad passed away.

The photo was taken looking south on the southern end of the ocean-side beach of Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia. The island in the distance is Moreton Island, the stretch of water between would be the Brisbane Bar. It would have been taken either 1976 or 1977, based on the height (or lack thereof) of the knee-high micah. The fish he caught that day was a Wobbegong, aka a carpet shark, about 3 feet long. He let it go.

My Dad passed away 1990 on his birthday, he was 57. I was 17, and in Australia...I last saw him a couple of months previous to his passing. Secondary brain cancer, the docs initially gave him 6 months, the tough old lion fought it hard for 3 years. He was never one to give up easy. The thing that grieves me is that I am not sure whether he repented on his deathbed. Mum says yes, but as I am not even sure of her salvation (meaning I have serious doubts, we can never be sure of someone else's eternal state, though there are degrees of worry or lack of it...you know?), it is one of those areas where I can only state The Lord is righteous and merciful and just, and I know whatever He decided is the right thing. I hope I will see Pierre (Dad) again. He is the best man I have ever known, a standard by which I seem to automatically measure all others by, unless I consciously avoid that sin of comparison. Most do not measure up, some are close. Of course, against the true Plumbline The Lord Jesus Christ, none of us do, none are anywhere near close. Pierre was a charming man, could thaw the hardest hearts...on the other hand, if someone played the fool with him and provoked him beyond his generous patience they soon found he was tough as nails and brave as a lion. He was not mean or vindictive. All the more dangerous for it, a righteous man in his anger is truly fearsome. His life story would fill a couple of adventure books, even as short as it was. Truly a remarkable man, words cannot do him justice. I praise and thank The Lord for giving me such a father, and am perpetually ashamed for dishonouring his name and for grieving him so with my sinful behaviour while he was alive. A word to sons.....DO NOT GRIEVE YOUR FATHER; YOU WILL REGRET IT FOREVER. Do not take him for granted, cherish every minute you have together, you never know when the last will be, for either of you.

And thanks for the picture Micah...if the little boy is you, how adorable! I always wanted my dad to take me fishing with him, but alas I am a girl. My consolation was that I got to dance with him at my wedding! Losing a parent is hard no matter what age or circumstances....but losing a daddy (or mommy) is worse.... my brother, beard and all.

Cameras do me the mercy of not showing me as I am. I was wondering this morning "where, Stefan, in your life, is anything whereby another person might have cause to praise and glorify The Lord by?". The answer I came up with rather quickly was...."Wow, God had mercy on him, after all the things he did? Now that is grace!!". Not much to go by; hope The Lord showers me with some more grace and does something through me. It will take a miracle. I'm ready and waiting. As to daughters going fishing....I've never known many girls that want to mess about with smelly bits of squid, and slimy fish, and all those boyish things. Pierre had 4 daughters and a son from previous marriages, maybe sometime I'll tell you more about them. Sigh, so much baggage and no instructions on how to sort it all out....pray for them, and me.

[livin_in_the_Son]

Micah, I just wanted to cut off the fish heads! I like all the slimy, stinkie, guts stuff, but my dad felt that as a girl, I should have been more girl-like....and I will certainly keep you in my prayers!

[micah719]

Ok, you're invited to go fishing. You can clean the Bream (a kind of perch, bottomfeeder, stinkiest fish in the sea but tasty).

Your dad was right. We boys were made of dirt, you girls were made of flesh.

Sticks and snails and puppy dogs tails.....sugar and spice and all things nice...

Thank God for women. I can't understand them, but it sure is nicer with them around.

[Suzanne]

Ah, we were all three years old, once. Young, innocent, naive, trusting, inquisitive, appreciative. Whatever happened?



The world, the flesh, and the devil........but then along came The Lord. Thank God!!!

Oh, to hear the divine melodies of Bach, at a good price too....wish I'd been there.



p.s. the pic is of micah719 in pre-beard days when the world was somehow different; at the beach with his beloved Daddy, who passed away 25th Feb 1990. The Lord giveth, The Lord taketh, blessed be the Name of The Lord.

You could hear Bach for free if you were hacked into my computer like a number of my relatives are. I noticed that one of them was listening to the classics. It's probably one of my nieces. She tends to have good taste.