As another departure from the topics on which I normally post, I have included the following phrases which one might consider using in their respective work places or other relevant circumstances where one might need to deal with less than pleasant people.
Although I really wouldn't encourage frequent use of these phrases, their use in situations where it is apt and precise can nonetheless be highly gratifying.
Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't care.
I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.
What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?
I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.
I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of karma to burn off.
Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
No, my powers can only be used for good.
How about never? Is never good for you?
I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the
violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for
about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was
calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, 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, and 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 kid 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 most
talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most
intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real 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 priorities of people. The
outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do
we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the
talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
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?
P.S. The following comments were reproduced from Urban Legends, which confirmed that this event actually took place. The website is provided as follows: http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/music/a/violinist_metro.htm
For 45 minutes on the morning of January 12, 2007, concert violinist
Joshua Bell stood incognito on a Washington, D.C. subway platform and
performed classical music for passersby. Video and audio of the performance are available on the Washington Post website.
"No one knew it," explained Washington Post reporter Gene
Weingarten several months after the event, "but the fiddler standing
against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of
the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world,
playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most
valuable violins ever made." Weingarted came up with the experiment to
see how ordinary people would react.
And how did they react? For the most part, not at all. More than a
thousand people entered the Metro station as Bell worked his way through
a set list of classical masterpieces, but only a few stopped to listen.
Some dropped money in his open violin case (for a total of about $27),
but most never even stopped to look, Weingarten wrote.
The text above, penned by an unidentifed author and circulated via blogs
and email, poses a philosophical question: "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?"
Which is fair to ask. The demands and distractions of our fast-paced
workaday world can indeed stand in the way of appreciating truth and
beauty and other contemplative delights when we encounter them. But it's
equally fair to point out that there's an appropriate time and
place for everything, including classical music. Was such an experiment
really necessary to determine that a busy subway platform during rush
hour might not be conducive to an appreciation of the sublime? Probably
not, though it makes for an interesting story just the same.
