A few years ago, a friend emailed me a poignant story about a man who was playing his violin in the Washington Metro on January 12, 2007. Everyone passed him by as they rushed on to work and went about their business. A few passerbys tossed some coins into the till but kept on walking. Children lingered to hear the music, but they were prodded to move along by their parents and even though they would look back to try to capture the music in their heads, soon they too disappeared out of sight.

As it happens, the violinist was Joshua Bell, and he played in that L’Enfant Plaza Station for 45 minutes. He played six classical pieces on his handcrafted Stradivarius – the same pieces that he had played three days earlier in Boston Symphony Hall, where the tickets were pricey and where folks dressed to the nines to hear a concert by such an icon.

That day in the subway, he collected a mere pittance for his talent. The people didn’t know who he was nor did they care.

Are we also walking through the subways of life not really seeing or hearing? What better way to start this new year then to take the time to truly savor life and the beauty that surrounds us. In doing so, we too might find virtuosos in the most unlikely of places.