PELUANG TAKKAN DATANG BERGOLEK

A violinist stood at a metro station in Washington DC. It was a cold January morning (in 2009). He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the child stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.


No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musician in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

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

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In a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour;

Do we recognise the talent in an unexpected context?

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 musician in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

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Kadang-kadang kita tak perasan yang peluang dan sesuatu yang berharga berada di depan mata kerana kita terlalu sibuk mengejar sesuatu hingga menjadi 'buta dan pekak' untuk menghargainya. Terlepas begitu saja!

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Bila difikirkan balik, aku rasa penah gak beberapa kali aku tanpa sengaja 'melepaskan' peluang yang ada di depan mata. Ada juga yang aku tak perasan pun aku dah terlepas peluang tu, cuma aku sedar bila ada orang lain yang ingatkan. Mungkinkah kalau aku 'berhenti dan menikmati' peluang yang ada tu, keadaan akan jadi berbeza? Aku tak pasti. Mungkin ya atau mungkin juga tidak. Perhaps...

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Kebarangkalian untuk mendapat peluang yang sama buat kali kedua adalah tipis. Berhenti mengharap agar peluang yang dah terlepas berulang lagi. Takut nanti dek terleka mengenang peluang dah tiada, tak perasan peluang baru yang terbentang di depan mata. Melepas lagi... heh!

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Aku berhenti berharap

Dan menunggu datang gelap

Sampai nanti suatu saat

Terlalu banyak peluang dibazirkan...

Aku harap aku masih berpeluang untuk menjumpai peluang lain...