What Are You Missing?

I am sure that many of you have visited large cities that have subways. Many of the subway stations are frequented by "would-be" musicians who perform for commuters for whatever cash is placed in their cases, hats or buckets.

One past January morning, in Washington DC, one such musician opened his violin case, placed it on the floor and proceeded to play for about 45 minutes. During this time he played 6 pieces written by Bach. Almost no one noticed. Of the estimated 2,000 people who passed by, only 6 stopped to listen and a few others did drop a few bucks in the open violin case. The violinist made a total of $32.

His name was Joshua Bell. One of the most accomplished musicians on earth. The pieces were some of the most difficult written by Bach. The 3.5 million dollar violin was built in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari. In his usual venues, Joshua Bell sells out concerts in which the prices are hundreds of dollars per seat. This was actually a social experiment organized by the Washington Post.




In this case, most people were just too busying going about their daily lives to notice one of the worlds best musicians playing some of the best music on this expensive instrument.

When I read about this story, I had to ask myself, "What am I missing?" How often am I too caught up in daily life to notice the beauty around me? How often am I too busy to notice the messages that God is trying to speak to me?



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