Stop and Enjoy the Music: Social Experiment About Perception [VIDEO]

Some cliched phrases still hold truth in their meanings. "Stop and smell the roses" is definitely one most of us should heed more often.

Check out this story from 2007 about a world-renowned musician giving Washing D.C. commuters the show of a life-time, while they ignore him and rush past to catch their next appointment.Here's how the story starts, from the Washington Post:

He emerged from the metro at the L'Enfant Plaza Station and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play.

It was rush hour on a Friday morning and this violinist played for 43 minutes. Nearly 1,100 people passed by. A total of $32 was tossed into his violin case. Only 6 stopped to listen for any period of time.

What makes this so strange?

Two days earlier, this violinist played a sold-out theater in Boston that people had paid $100 a seat just to hear him perform. His name is Joshua Bell, and he is one of the greatest musicians in the world.

He played 6 of the most beautiful songs ever written, and played them on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

But, because he did it in a t-shirt, in a train station, next to a trash can...no one cared. (Check out the video below.)

It was all done as part of a social experiment about people's perception, taste and priorities.

Watching this and reading the entire story nearly brought a tear to my eye. I think we all need to remember that just because something doesn't cost a lot of money doesn't mean it can’t be good. And conversely, things that cost a lot are not always worth the price.

Do yourself a favor. Stop to smell a flower, take the time to watch the sunrise, listen and enjoy someone's beautiful voice, savor the food in your mouth, really embrace that hug from a friend. There are so many wonderful things in the world that happen every day that we pay no attention to.

Stop and enjoy the music once in awhile. It's the little things that make life worth living.

Read about the entire experiment from the Washington Post, fascinating stuff.