On Appreciation and Slowing Down: The Josh Bell Story

During December 2017, Taryn and I went on honeymoon to Sri Lanka, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of something I’ve experienced every time I’ve traveled to a 3rd world country.

Despite the poverty, lack of technology, and clear difference in standard of living, one thing is strangely obvious: The people are happy.

There’s this sense of ease and a slower pace of life that is so refreshing to experience.

I’ve been thinking about this for the last few weeks, and it reminded me of another story I heard recently which illustrates my point.

On a cold January morning, a man named Josh Bell set up a little spot in a Washington D.C metro station to play his violin during rush hour, hoping to make some money. He played for 45 minutes, during which time thousands of people passed by.

Josh raised $32.

But here’s where the story gets interesting.

See, Josh Bell is actually one of the world’s top musicians and had sold out a theatre performance just two days before at $100 a seat!

That day in the subway, he’d played one of the most complicated pieces ever written on a violin worth over $3 million.

Yet no one seemed to notice.

This begs the question: how much other beauty are we missing right in front of us? And where else are we so rushed to get to our next destination (whether literally or figuratively) that we fail to slow down and appreciate what’s already there?

Let’s keep our vision strong in our minds, focus on our goals for the next 90 days, but also not forget to appreciate the little moments of magic that occur along the way.