AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN

By

Judy Bluhm

Apparently, we don’t pay enough attention to our surroundings, or the people in our lives. Some might say that humans are becoming so immersed in technology that the constant quest to communicate has led to a colossal breakdown in personal relationships. We also seem to be easily distracted, self-absorbed and not “tuned in” to the world around us. How can we stop and smell the roses if we don’t even see them? Dear Readers, “paying attention” is a whole lot harder than we care to admit.

Several years ago, in Washing DC a man stood at the metro station and started playing a violin. It was a January morning and approximately 1100 people passed him by during the forty-five minutes that he was playing. The man played beautifully six different Bach pieces to a largely indifferent crowd. A few commuters slowed their pace long enough to briefly listen, some paused and then threw a dollar or two into the violin case, but most seemed oblivious to the music being made.

It was children who seemed most captivated by the violinist and many wanted to stop walking completely and stare at the man. All of their parents pulled them away. In the forty-five minute “concert” only six people actually stopped, sat down and listened for a while and twenty kind folks tossed money in the violin case. After the man was done playing, he had made thirty-two dollars. No one applauded, made a comment or gave him any recognition. After all, he was just another street performer.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, world-renown musician who had just played to a sold-out theater in Boston where tickets went for at least one hundred dollars. He was playing one of the most intricate pieces ever written on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Does time and place matter? Can we appreciate the extraordinary in the midst of our ordinary routines? Organized by the Washington Post, this was a social experiment, seeking to discover if people can perceive beauty in a commonplace environment at an unexpected time.

This begs the question: what “beauty” are we missing each day? The drumbeat of our own hectic schedules may drown out the voices of our children, the chit-chat of our neighbors, the stories that our loved ones want to share. Birds singing, wind whispering, owls hooting, coyotes yelping, all sorts of “music” surrounds us each day. The commuters at the metro station weren’t expecting a classical genius to be playing Bach. And our perceptions usually dictate our thought. And those “thoughts” might filter out the “noise” around us.

A woman in Anthem emailed me to say that she has had “salt and pepper” hair for many years. One brave day at the beauty shop, her hairdresser talked her into a “new look” and in two hours she was transformed into a brunette. Feeling wonderful, she went home and when she walked through the door, her husband said nothing. In fact, he “never noticed” or if he did “never uttered a word” about her hair for three long days. Finally, when she demanded that he “say something” about her new golden brown locks, he smiled and said, “I guess I didn’t notice because you always look beautiful to me.” Hmmm . . . that’s a pretty good comeback. Brilliant, actually. Yikes, how is it possible that we sometimes do not notice the obvious?

The Washing Post posed the question, ‘Can we ever recognize talent in an unexpected place?” And if we cannot appreciate one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the most thrilling music ever written, then what else might we be missing? Hey, but aren’t we multi-tasking, busy people? We are running to those trains, planes and automobiles that have to get us to our next destination. There is not a lot of time to stand around “loitering” in a subway station listening to a poor fellow strum a fiddle! So we hurry along , perhaps missing out on “greatness” every now and then. At least we made it to our dentist appointment!

My vet says that one reason that our dogs are so happy is because they “live in the moment.” And because of that, they are very acutely aware of their surroundings . . . .sights, smells and sounds. People generally do not live in the moment, although I must admit I have tried, but all it does is lead to major malfunctions. Just a few hours ago I was making coffee and getting ready to write this column, noticed a paper on the counter that needed to be filed, went into my office, then could see that the plant needed watering, so took it to the sink where I saw a towel that had to go into the laundry, went to the washing machine and grabbed an empty detergent bottle and then put it in the trash out in the garage and realized my boots needed polishing. Help! When I do “pay attention” I seem to exhibit symptoms of attention-deficit.

Busy minds and lives are the reason we get side-tracked, lose sight of our priorities, missing all those special moments that comprise each day. Like the focused commuters at the subway station with a train to catch, how can we possibly notice a guy, a violin and Bach? Okay, this week, let’s all strive to seize the moment, seek out greatness in unexpected places and stop to hear the music. . . . or smell the coffee. So until next time, Carpe Diem!

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local realtor who lives in the Anthem area. Have a story or a comment? Email Judy at [email protected].