anecdote 1 – THE VIOLINIST a true story
_________________________________________ THE VIOLINIST a true story – a man was playing the violin at a subway station in washington DC one cold winter morning at rush hour he was playing complex bach pieces as people rushed about ignoring him – a middle aged man stopped for a few second then hurried along to his appointment a woman tossed a dollar into his violin case without stopping and walked quickly away – another man stopped, listening intently he leaned against the wall then looked at his watch and was quickly on his way – a three year old boy came next he stayed the longest, enthralled by the music his mother dragged him away he resisted but lost in the end – the same thing happened to three other kids clinging in vain to their independence their lives were controlled by parents who had no time – in the 45 minutes the violinist played only six people stopped to listen for a while four children were dragged by their mothers twenty gave money, then walked away quickly he collected $32 in all – when he finished playing there was a deafening silence the rush hour had ended no one noticed him, no one applauded he walked away, feeling happy – no one knew he was joshua bell one of the best musicians in the world playing one of the most intricate pieces with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars – two days before his subway concert he performed at a boston theater where seats averaged $100 each the tickets were all sold out – joshua bell playing incognito in a subway station was organized by the washington post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people – one conclusion was – at the ‘wrong’ place at the ‘wrong’ time beauty is unseen, we are blinded by tasks the same beauty that awes a crowd grappling for a seat and paying a fortune – how many times do we fail to see what children see so clearly because we have too many promises to keep then we regain our vision back momentarily at the ‘right’ place at the ‘right’ time – what is right and wrong are mere perceptions the heart is often controlled by circumstance spaghetti at a street joint can taste better than at a five star place but we do not know it we become blind when the mind takes over the heart – anonymous rewritten by eastwind – _________________________________________ if your heart is kind you can see forever – sister raquel reodica RVM – _________________________________________ THIS MATERIAL IS POSTED AT www.sisterraquel.com A GLOBAL HEALING BLOGSITE YOU ARE INVITED TO BE A MEMBER SO YOU CAN READ SUCH MATERIAL – HEALING THE SPIRIT (forgiveness) PRECEDES HEALING THE BODY (cancer) ATTACHED TWO MEDITATION POSTERS – _________________________________________ you are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars you have a right to be here and whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life keep peace in your soul – with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams it is still a beautiful world be cheerful, strive to be happy – excerpt from desiderata max ehrmann, 1927 – _________________________________________ try this experiment – do not plan your day, wallow in dreams be sensitive to people and things around you see what happens if you will gain spiritual treasures even if you lose material ones – there are times not planning is the best plan for example, you cannot decide what career to choose because you lack the wisdom of experience fulfillment or frustration are imagined you just have to do a trial and error the earlier you plan based on theory the more blunders you commit – the wisdom of experience will guide you try and make mistakes before you decide finally the more you hurry, the more you fall ‘children of the universe’ sometimes give better counsel than sages or scholars – eastwind – _________________________________________ return to Me with your whole heart with fasting weeping and mourning rend your hearts not your garments return to Me your Lord your God – for gracious and merciful am I slow to anger rich in kindness relenting in punishment – joel 2:12-13 – _________________________________________
