Everyday Beauty

I came across this old article in the Washington Post about a social experiment they conducted. I thought it was interesting enough to share/post/document. It served as a good reminder to just slow down sometimes. As a coworker often says "pump the brakes." Here it is...copied and pasted...

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 thousands of 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 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 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 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 an 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?

Dear Teagan - 5 months

Dear Teagan,

You just turned 5 months old! The weeks and months just seem to cruise right by. We do our best to relish in the moments so time doesn't get away from us.

Your personality has certainly come out in the past month. You are so aware of your surroundings and you LOVE faces...daddy, mommy, dolls, grocery store employee, anybody! Eye-contact, tickles and conversation get you smiling and laughing in no time.

It appears you are starting to make conscious decisons. We place two toys in front of you and you choose which you reach for. We hope you remember you will always have choices in life and that you will be equipped with skills to ration and make the very best decisions.


You are so curious in our daily tasks. You love the hair dryer and you are the perfect sous chef. We talk you through the smallest tasks and you observe as if there will be a quiz to follow. Your personality is very mellow at this point. You just go with the flow as long as long as there is some sort of loose routine.

You sit up but still wobble a bit too and fro. We know your core is strengthening as your range of motion inceases. We used to watch you swim and now we watch you do the backwards tummy scootch. It is so incredible to watch you gain ground and sort of "figure it out."



Each and every day we look at you and then look at each other and just smile. We feel honored to be your parents and to share this amazing journey with you. There are days where we wonder if we are doing it right but your smiles, steady growth and wholeness you bring to our lives means we must be on the right track.

Love you little girl,

Mom and Dad