Bach in the metro: The virtue of presence

“Presence is more than just being there.”
-Malcolm S. Forbes

A couple of years ago the Washington Post decided to conduct a social experiment in order to explore perceptions of, and appreciation for, beauty. First, they chose an unexpected place (L'Enfant Plaza in the D.C. Metro station) at an inconvenient time (a Friday in January at 7:51 in the morning). Then they asked a physically non-descript violinist to set up shop next to a trash can, and play. And play he did. For forty five minutes six pieces by Bach were performed for 1,097 unsuspecting commuters as they passed by.

But few paid attention to the young musician wearing blue jeans, a long white t-shirt, and a baseball cap. Nor did they seem to be moved by the beautiful music he played. Just another day. Only six people stopped for longer than a few seconds, and none for more than a moment. Twenty people gave him money but most of them barely broke their pace as they dropped what would amount to $32 in the open violin case. And when the man finished his concert, there was no applause and no recognition of the unique gift that had just been offered except for one woman who mentioned to the performer she’d seen him once before.

The violinist was the internationally acclaimed virtuoso Joshua Bell, playing a 3.5 million dollar violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1713. Two nights before Bell had played this same violin for a sold-out audience in Boston.

Afterwards, the newspaper seemed surprised by the responses of the commuters. Even if the time and place were less than ideal, Bell was incognito, and his instrument underappreciated, they assumed the impact would be greater.

In fairness, I don’t know if the Post could truly judge whether or not the passers-by actually perceived and appreciated beauty. Maybe on the fly some of them did. But it was Friday morning and they were trying to get to work on time. They had real deadlines to meet, and probably not a lot of free time.

However, we do know that out of 1,097 people only 6 stopped for longer than a few seconds…1,097…six people…a few seconds. And if this many people can be overwhelmingly not present to something as wonderful as a Joshua Bell concert, regardless of place or time, what are the chances they’d miss something more subtle? A glance, a sigh, a quiver.

But we’d be different. We’d stop, and listen, and appreciate, and be present to the man and the moment. We’re “present” most moments, right? Everyday, as I watch people texting while driving, and updating Facebook statuses during meetings and lectures, and tweeting while on a date, I wonder.

And I’m as guilty as anyone. I constructed most of this essay in my mind while sitting in Church Sunday…during the sermon.

“Presence is more than just being there.”

Presence as a virtue is about emotional and spiritual space, not just physical space. Presence as a virtue is about being sensitive to what’s going on around you, and not just in you.

Presence as a virtue is about successfully resisting the temptation to make multi-tasking a way-of-being in the world.

Life is L’Enfant Plaza in the D.C. metro station on a Friday morning.
We are the early morning commuters.
Joshua Bell’s concert is the call to practice the virtue of presence.

Will we stop and listen to the music, and the message it carries?

Questions for reflection:
How could the virtue of presence make a difference in your life?
Who models the virtue of presence for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of presence?