via: http://www.jeffbridges.com/perception.html

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly..

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.

How many other things are we missing?

Ah. Alain. One of my favourite authors (having read “On Love”, “The Consolations of Philosophy”, “The Art of Travel” and “How Proust Can Change Your Life”). It’s nice to see that he is just as articulate and witty in person as he is in his writing.

As ever, at least for me anyway, the way in which he discusses elements of the human condition are often strikingly common sense, yet addressed in a manner that makes you feel as though somehow, you are being enlightened. Perhaps however that is a flawed feeling; is it not more likely having that which you feel to be true reinforced by someone far more suited to talk on such matters with authority? Whatever it is, I enjoy his work immensely. Infact, I can’t believe I missed the release of “The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work”. Time for an Amazon order…

seize the day but don’t live like there is no tomorrow. go out and enjoy the fun. drink your favorite drink. feel a little buzz in your head but not to be drunk. dance. sing. or even scream just to release what’s inside. cry. its alright to cry. rest your body and your brain. force yourself not to worry cos it wont do you any good. its like a rocking chair that will give you something to do but take you to nowhere. exercise. have sex. give and take the pleasure. stimulate your brain cells. seek a deep conversation. speak. read and listen. get yourself any kind of knowledge. who knows it may save you one day. watch a movie. search for all entertainment available. spend some alone time. contact with your inner self. you owe it to yourself. have a dream and try to live it. set a goal and make it happen. be confident. don’t push yourself too hard. anything thats too much is never good. keep balance. be in control of life. be care free not care less. create and consume. love.

I have printed this out and placed it on my wall :)

A quick post to say, Dec left England yesterday. He’s meeting his girlfriend for 3 months in Thailand, before they both move on to Australia to lounge around, then find some work (they have work visas sorted out). Of course we’ll miss him loads, but we’re very jealous and taking our hats off to him for doing this :) With this virtual world though, no-one ever seems that far away… and fingers crossed as many of us as possible can meet up during summer 2007.

Good luck dude (and Mel)!

– Ashe Hall, the main building at The Tara Centre.

Despite the place being very busy (great! lots of money raised I hope!), it seemed really lovely – gorgeous surroundings! I can imagine it would be incredibly peaceful during times of normality. Situated within 38 acres of woodland and fields you get the feeling that you could really escape from the comparitively fast-paced “real world”, which is kind of the point really!

– Catching a peaceful moment, away from the day’s events.

– The Barn Retreat, where you can stay during your time at Ashe Hall.

Dad introduced me to a young woman called Choweng, who is a nun living at the college. Vietnamese, born and raised in Australia, set out to the UK to travel and ended up at the Tara Centre and never left! That was 4 years ago. Quite amazing really. She was very nice and encouraged me to come and stay… though I’d already decided that it was something I definitely wanted to do. Dad has offered to pay for me to stay for 1 week (�165 including food and accomodation)… though if possible I think I’d like to pay the extra and stay for 1 month (�380 total). Even though a week would be great, it might be too short to make any real impact on my psych�, so assuming I have the time (which I think I will) I’d rather try and last a month :)

All in all a nice day, with nice people, in the english countryside, with lovely weather! :)

Once you’ve had it, there is no escape. Torn away, you crave it, as a druggie craves their next hit. Left with only persistant memories, idealistic thoughts, you become an infatuation junkie.

There is NO better feeling than meeting someone with whom you have a spark. That instant emotionally powerful and passionate connection. You feel alive! You chat for hours about everything and nothing. You get excited about doing crazy things you’ve always wanted to do but either never had the guts to do it alone, or never found anyone else who gave a damn. You confide in each other your wishes, hopes, dreams, and insecurites with an ease like no other. The feeling of isolation, loneliness and being misunderstood begins to fade. Could this be someone who will join you on your journey through life?

… but as quickly as it began, it is gone.

The spark is but a momentary thing, bursting into life with such intense vigour and overwhelming brightness, but naturally, it burns out. The analogy relates here aswell; Relationships formed in this way are unstable and highly likely to fail, at best, becoming a glowing ember, a shadow of their former selves. Why? Well that is another (very complicated) question…