Are you making room for miracles?

I thought this was a poignant video when I first saw it.  “Stop and Hear the Music” is a mantra I find myself reciting to my clients on a daily basis.  In the video, there’s a brilliant street musician playing in the corner and thousands of people rushing by, missing out on something that could have made their day; brought them a smile, made them feel calmer, contributed peace.  Instead, the commuters rush by like ghosts unaware of anything but their own little bubble.

This scenario is one we each play out each day in our own lives.  We miss little gifts, amazing beauty and even some miracles because we don’t lift our heads, look around and wake up to our lives.

But it gets even better.  The video came with an accompanying article in the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html.)  The whole thing was an experiment.

The “street musician” was actually world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell, who talent usually commands a paycheck that averages about $1,000 per minute.  (For those of us who aren’t classical music aficionados, Bell was the musician responsible for the soundtrack of “The Red Violin.”)  On this day he made only $32 for his entire performance.  As if his talent weren’t enough to have him go unnoticed, he was playing on a $3.5 million instrument called the Gibson ex Huberman, handcrafted in 1713 by Italian master Antonio Stradivari.  This impromptu concert was somethin that most people never experience in a lifetime.  Yet over 1,000 people ignored it.

On this day, in a train station in Washington DC, less than 10 people had room in their lives for a miracle.

CALL TO ACTION:  Just for today…. WAKE UP!  Lift up your head, make eye contact.  Look around.  Be present.  Greet people.  Smile.  Fill your heart with gratitude.  Distinguish the miracles your life presents you with every single day and wrap your arms around every single one of them.