Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
Rushing Past $3.5 Million Music: Are We Too Busy?
Have you ever rushed past something extraordinary without noticing? That's exactly what happened when Joshua Bell, one of the world's greatest violinists, played his $3.5 million Stradivarius in a Washington DC metro station during rush hour. Out of 1,100 commuters, only six stopped to listen. The children noticed—they tried to stop—but parents hurried them along, focused on schedules and destinations rather than the masterful performance unfolding before them.
This fascinating social experiment raises profound questions about our perception. If we can't pause to appreciate world-class music when it's right in front of us, what else are we missing? Today, I challenge you to make a choice: look for and listen to the beautiful things around you. Take a walk somewhere you can appreciate nature. Visit your favorite place—that spot where you experience those "aha" moments of wonder and gratitude. In slowing down and noticing, we connect not just with the world around us but with its Creator. Join me each weekday morning for five minutes that will help you start your day right, with perspective and purpose. What beauty will you notice today?
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day, so grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax and let me help you start your day right. It was a cold January morning back in 2007 when a young man entered the metro station in Washington DC and started to play his violin. He played six pieces written by Bach for about 45 minutes and during that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that approximately 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 a musician playing. He slowed down, 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 his violin case 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.
Speaker 1:The one who paid the most attention was a three-year-old boy. His mother, in a hurry, was dragging him along, but the kids 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 six people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk at their normal pace. In that 45 minutes he collected $32.
Speaker 1:When he finished playing and silence took over, no one even noticed, no one applauded and there was no recognition for what he had just done. 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 that is worth $3.5 million. Two days before his playing in the subway, joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where seats averaged $250 each. Now, this was actually a social experiment. Joshua Bell had been contacted by the Washington Post, who had asked him to play incognito in this metro station and to see how people would react. The outlines for the experiment were in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour.
Speaker 1:Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent? In an unexpected context, they decided that one of the likely conclusions from this experiment could be if we don't 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? That's a pretty good question, isn't it? How many other things are we missing In Genesis, chapter 1 and verse 31,.
Speaker 1:God had just finished creating the world and everything in it. This is the end of the sixth day and it says God saw all that he had made and it was very good. When the master creator makes something that's very good, you know it's going to be extremely good, and God has created this beautiful world for each one of us. It really doesn't matter where you live. There's beauty where you are.
Speaker 1:The problem that the people coming through the terminal had in that story was that they were distracted by the other things that were on their minds. They had other priorities that were pressing upon them and they weren't able to stop and enjoy what was really beautiful. We find that around us right now, there are so many things pressing upon us. There are so many things distracting us. It's many of those distractions that take away from our ability to relax and enjoy and be thankful for the beauty that we have.
Speaker 1:So I invite you today to make a choice A choice to look at and to listen to the things that are beautiful around you. To take a walk somewhere where you can enjoy nature and what God has created. To go to your favorite place Almost everyone has their favorite place where they go and just have the ah moments and relax and just thank God for being God and for creating the beauty around you and for blessing you with it in your life. Have a great day, my friends. We'll talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday, right here on Starting Right, with Danny Mac.
