Hesitation can be a beautiful thing.
I happened to be in NYC at the same time as the Play Me, I’m Yours art installation in which 60 pianos were given temporary homes in public spots across the city.
Purely by accident, I discovered the first one in Battery Park when Matt was attempting to figure out how to snap a decent shot of the Statue of Liberty.
It was a brutal scorcher of a weekend in New York and I don’t adjust well to heat. So with zero interest in being exposed any further to the unyielding sun, I retreated to the nearest shady area.
My sights were set on the first wooden bench, but as I was about to sit down, my ears immediately perked up at the faint and familiar sound of a solo piano.
A quick turn of the head revealed the source of the sound. I forgot about sitting down and moved closer.
A young girl had just finished playing and moved aside for the next person. The piano bench remained empty for a few minutes while the small surrounding crowd hemmed and hawed about whether or not they wanted to be next in line.
Movement! A man nearby shrugged his shoulders and, with a smile, handed a shopping bag to his wife and made a beeline for the piano.
He placed his hands on the keys and the music began. At first, he played slowly, tentatively, as if to say, “Should I be doing this? Is this okay?” Some people walked on by, but others stopped to watch, no looks of judgment or distaste on their faces.
The piano man’s hesitance eventually faded as his confidence and volume gradually increased. His head rolled gently side-to-side as the notes became more pronounced and he indulged in his own little corner of the world.
Another smile gradually spread across his face and you knew in that instant that you couldn’t tear him away from that piano if you tried. Not that you’d want to take that moment away from anyone.
It’s almost voyeuristic, isn’t it? But these inadvertent, fleeting peeks into a complete stranger’s world are over before you realize they’ve begun, all from that initial moment of hesitation.
And to watch that hesitation dissipate — that’s simply magic.
