Monday, September 07, 2009

Extraordinary things in ordinary moments

This is a true story. The Washington Post organised a violinist to play incognito in the metro station as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognise talent in an unexpected context? The answer it seems, is no we do not.


You can read the story in this week's InnerGoddess newsletter... Please return to this post to answer the question: what have you seen today that is an extraordinary thing in an ordinary moment?

3 comments:

Kate Ringvall said...

Hi Anita -

So true and so sad...I just hope I wouldn't be one of those parents pushing my child along to meet some deadline instead of listening to the beautiful music!

My son and I were on the Mt Henry Bridge in Perth one morning last week, doing our usual commute to daycare/uni and I voiced aloud my wondering "I wonder if the Dolphins are out playing this morning?" and as we both looked over to the river...what did we see? A pair of Dolphins playing in the water whilst a Pelican sat quietly by them...wondrous it was and we both shouted for joy at seeing them ;-).

Kate.

William Cassity said...

A smile and coo from my newborn. Inspiring, loving and totally in the norm! Thank you for sharing this article in your post.

Anonymous said...

Driving home after work, my 3 year daughter strapped into the car seat behind me, it was hot, we were both tired and a little cranky, it had been a very long day. The homeward route took us down a long winding road, quicker than the highway at rush hour but the radio reception was lousy and there was really nothing to look at. We came around a bend, had to stop short as there was a truck with a camper blocking the road trying to back into a twisty driveway. I opened the windows and turned off the car, expecting a long hot wait. A elderly lady came to the window and offered us lemonade and a shady tree, apologized for the wait. My daughter was squirming so i figured a leg stretch was a good idea, we got out and went up to sit under the tree had lemonade and cookies, exchanged some recipes while my daughter played happily with the lady's grandkids. The trailer moved along in time, we were both in a much better frame of mind, thirst quenched, well cookied and i found a penpal for life and a good friend.