koyaanisqatsi?
amy free, a fabulous photographer and fellow military spouse, attended our spring wallflower retreat. i was surfing her blog the other day and read this post, where she shared her thoughts on an article she had recently read. after reading what she shared, i knew i had to read the article. it's pretty long, but so worth it. what is it about?
the washington post article, written in 2007, is about a man -- a violinist. with an open violin case at his feet, he played his violin during morning rush hour, in l'enfant plaza (the nucleus of federal washington). during the 43 minutes that he played --
1097 people passed by
three minutes went by before anything at all happened (the turn of a head)
7 people stopped and listened, for at least a minute
27 gave money, most of them on the run
1070 hurried by, oblivious
the violinist made a total of $32
every single time a child walked by, they tried to stop and watch
every single time, the parent pulled the child away
never did a crowd form and hardly a group
why didn't people stop to listen?
they were too busy
they were in a hurry
they had other things on their mind
they had buds in their ears and couldn't hear
but this man was no ordinary street musician; this man was joshua bell, an internationally acclaimed virtuoso who typically commands about $1000 per minute, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on a violin worth millions. that day, he played a number of violin pieces, to include chaconne, considered to be one of the most difficult violin pieces to master. the article goes on to share some interesting interviews from a few that were there during the 43 minutes joshua bell played.
in the article, weingarten states,
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?
yes, what are we missing? because we're in too much of a hurry? because we have too many other things on our mind? because we're just too busy with our daily lives? are we taking the time to appreciate life and see and hear the simple, amazing beauty that surrounds us?
+++
what is koyaanisqatsi? it's a hopi word, mentioned in the article, that means life out of balance.
so...is your life correctly balanced? take a minute to think about it! i know i am.
xo deb
if you haven't visited amy's blog before, please do. and while you're there, be sure to check out her work with the lost valley ranch, colorado. thanks amy, for sharing and for your inspiration. we can't wait to see where this photography journey takes you.
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 04:06PM
Reader Comments (9)
oh my goodness, what a humbling treat to end my day! and yes, that article has camped out in my head and my heart since I read it... I hope and pray that we can all enjoy the every day beauty that makes this life such a blessing!
This post, really touched me, thank you for sharing I think I do need to slow down a bit.
Joshua Bell did that in NYC, on the subway platforms, I believe.
Being a former violinist myself (one of many things I wish I had never quit doing), I always try to listen. I can't help it. Strings move me. I wish I had heard him play, but I wouldn't have known it was him.
I haven't heard the word koyaanisqatsi in a long time... Thanks for the reminder :)
amy free is amazing! :)
Thank you for this post and blog. very inspiring in so many ways. I would love to attend a workshop someday when it its in California. I think the Central Coast of California would be a great location!!
wow, that's amazing. I would have been one of those to stop. My 3 1/2 year old son would have been mesmerized! Thanks for sharing. I checked out Amy's site. I love being redirected to other talent around the country. Beautiful work!!
Followed breadcrumbs and found you.. and this. Maybe it's my post baby state but this had me bawling. I have no idea if I would have stopped or not. But that hardly anyone even acknowledged him and the beautiful music he was playing is SO wrong.
Wow, just wow.
So true!!! I have always taught my children to LITERALLY stop and smell the roses. Life is too short to be in such a hurry!!