Video posted to YouTube by WashingtonPost .
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What is this life if, full of care,
We have not time to stand and stare. –
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No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
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No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
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No time to see in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
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No time to turn at Beauty’s glance
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
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No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
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A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Leisure by W.H.Davies (1871 – 1940), Welsh poet and writer
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In 2007 the Washington Post posed the question: “Can one of the nation’s great musicians cut through the fog of a Washington, D.C. rush hour? Thus it came to pass that – masquerading as a street musician – the world renown violin virtuoso, chamber musician, and orchestra leader, Joshua Bell, played his Gibson ex Huberman (1713, Antonio Stradivari) using a bow made in the eighteenth century by Francois Tourte for the pleasure of DC Metro commuters. He treated them to the sweet strains Chaconne (Bach‘s Partita No.2), AveMaria (Schubert), Estrellita (Ponce), and closed with a Bach gavotte.
Bell concerts are packed to capacity and tickets can run to three figures. During the forty-three minutes he played in the D.C. metro, 1,097 people passed him by and he collected $32.17. Twenty of those dollars were donated by the only commuter to recognize him. Only four-or-five people actually stopped to listen.
The Washington Post’s Gene Weingarten has written the complete sad story of folks too busy and/or unconscious to take note (pun intended) HERE.
Joshua Bell, (b.1960)
Violinist, Classical Musician
If you happen to have time for some music, check out Bell playing Chaconne. Go ahead! I dare you … Make your day …
Video posted to YouTube by mlfilms.
Photo credit ~ Violinist Joshua Bell following a performance at the San Francisco Symphony in California U.S. courtesy of Alexduff under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license via Wikipedia.
The BeZine 
hectic life takes away all happiness.
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“Tis true, Trisha. Thanks for coming here. Love that gravatar! 🙂
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Beautiful job Ge! I particularly appreciate having a chance to experience the two different contexts for listening to the Chaconne. It’s all there… two forms of presence we can directly experience.
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Thanks! It was well received on Musing for that reason. I sometimes wonder if it’s an imposition to post two videos at once. With this it really seemed to help make the point.
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no time to turn at Beauty’s dance…that is an incredible observation of what happens in the West
Jaye
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Yes, indeed it is, Jaye. Although, I think the advantage we writers have is by our very nature and inclination we are observers. We tend to live hugely.
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Let’s keep reminding people! Stop. Be Still. Don’t talk. Observe, listen,be. Someone will dare to do it! 😀
At times, I lay on the lawn with my cat and just watch him. Sometimes I mimic him and he bats me with his paw. He knows. And my chest nearly bursts with joy.
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What a lovely custom you and our cat have, Amy! I love it and can just picture you…. Wonderful
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Super post. I love to look up from my writing and watch my blackbirds. After rain they collected lining for their nest from the bottom of the palm (it would have been too hard for their beaks if the rain had not softened it). Now there are eggs in the nest and one day they fought of a snake that was getting too close to the nest, shrieking and pecking at it. Other little birds come and eat the seeds on the plants. I get lost in the beauty of the garden. I did so enjoy the interview with Joshua he is lost in the beauty of his music.
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