A man at a metro station in Washington, DC began to play the violin. Since it was rush hour, thousands of people walked by.

After about three minutes, a middle-aged man stopped to listen for a few seconds, then hurried on. Soon the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman tossed in the money without stopping.

The one who paid the most attention was a three-year-old boy. Though his mother was hurrying him along. Finally, when the mother gave him a tug, the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only six people stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. All in all, he collected $32. When he finished, no one noticed or applauded.
Not a soul recognized the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most gifted musicians in the world, and that he played some of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Even more interesting, two days before, Joshua Bell’s performance in a Boston theater was sold out with seats averaging $100 apiece.

            The whole thing was an experiment organized by the Washington Post to answer the question: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it?         

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing? Perhaps we’re also failing to notice God speaking in our lives. Stop and take time today to listen to His voice. God told Job, “Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak” (Job 33:31).

Are you listening?