The great violinist Joshua Bell, a one-time child prodigy, and now an internationally acclaimed virtuoso, agreed to give a recital in a Washington DC subway station during the morning rush hour. The proviso was that nobody would know about his appearance before-hand; he would be completely incognito.

Bell was 39 years old, tall and mop-haired, and showed up as pretty much every other non-descript street musician in jeans, long-sleeved T-shirt, and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. He removed his violin from the case and left it open at his feet, seeding it with a few dollars and change. He stood next to a trashcan, under an arcade at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station (the heart of federal bureaucracy), and faced his audience.

Over the next 43 minutes, he proceeded to play six classical compositions that are among the most difficult and evocative violin pieces ever written. During that time, 1,097 people passed by; how many stopped what they were doing to hang around longer than one minute? Seven people. Twenty-seven people gave him some money, which totaled $32.17, most of them dropping it on the run. 1,090 people passed by without even turning to look. This boggles my mind, but it doesn’t really surprise me.

We are so focused on multitasking that every activity — from walking to exercising or reading — is accompanied by watching TV, listening to music, cell phone conversations or instant messaging. We are so inundated with stimulation that it’s hard to be in any moment or respond to anything spontaneous. In the case of Joshua Bell, there is also the preconception that no great violinist/musician/thespian is going to be playing the subway circuit. Finally there is a general contemporary attitude of “mind your own business” and “don’t get involved.” So instead of finding yourself by some stroke of magic in the right place at the right time, you can’t recognize it because you are someplace else.

It is said the Messiah will arrive at the gates of Jerusalem dressed like a beggar and that he will not be recognized because no one will stop to listen. Unless we step away from all our ordinary preoccupations, we will never appreciate the magic of the serendipitous moment when something awesome is made visible.

Take a break from what you think you have to do, and you may find that the best seat in the house is only four feet away. It could change your life.

Two months ago, John Russell a 44-year-old Army Sgt. with the 54th Engineering Battalion, who was on his third Iraqi deployment, and suffering severe PTSD, shot and killed 5 people at Camp Liberty, the Combat Stress Center in Baghdad, Three were servicemen sitting in the waiting area, one a social worker, and the other a psychiatric colleague, Dr. Matthew Houseal. Dr. Houseal was 54-years-old, the father of 7, and an Army reservist who left his job at the Texas Panhandle Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center, to volunteer in Iraq, because he felt the need was so great.

This shooting wasn’t the first such at Camp Liberty, it was the 6th incident in which a service member killed comrades since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. The longer men and women are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan the greater the incidence of such psychological problems; the more likely you are to see your comrades getting killed and wounded. The chronic stressors of IED’s (improvised explosive devices) wearing heavy body armor, perpetual mortal anxiety, repeated absences from family, they all take a profound toll.

20% of military service members who return from Iraq and Afghanistan report symptoms of PTSD, or major depression (that’s 300,000 Vets), and are also committing suicide at nearly twice the national average. We are not meeting the medical and psychological needs of these soldiers and their families, until they end up in an ER or a Camp Liberty. We need to be doing more for these men and women.

Forty years ago I refused to go to Viet Nam, and served my military obligation the Indian Health Service instead. I hated the war, and judged badly those soldiers who chose to fight in it. Until I had to treat those returning Native American veterans who were so traumatized by their involvements that they could not fully live in the world they returned to. I swore then, I would never again confuse my feelings about war with the warriors who fight it.

Those Native veterans, who adjusted best, came from traditional tribes and families and participated in a variety of Returning Warrior ceremonies. The soldiers were honored and ritually cleansed from whatever lingering stains of war might still cling to their spirit. We need to be doing such honoring ceremonies for all our returning Vets and we’d see a lot less disability and suffering from this disease.

The only returning warrior ceremony I can participate in for Dr. Matt Houseal is to say the Hebrew prayer for the dead. I will say Kaddish for a year to honor his memory, a man of courage and a committed healer. And I will pray for Sgt. Russell whose trials are still to come, to honor his service and acknowledge the enormity of his personal sacrifice.

Newsweek announced “The Recession is Over,” (cover, 8/3/2009) but everybody I know is hurting, and lots of people are tapping into savings, or living on their credit line. For those most financially vulnerable, the unemployed, and those on fixed incomes, the recession has been devastating, but everybody is digging into survival mode.

How can we help ourselves through these hard times? Drink more coffee! People who’ve lost their jobs and now work at home are getting together in coffee shops all over this country. They call themselves “home-based professionals” and instead of the demoralizing suffering and uncertainties that escalate when one is alone, they get together to bounce ideas off each other, get professional guidance and find companionship.

My mother used to do this around our kitchen table — it’s what we used to do in communities during the hard times. We can reach out to each other and share our resources and give them away. This is an ethic that has made America great.

Historically, whenever a serious economic depression comes upon us, it also brings new development and creates a whole new infrastructure for the future. In the meantime, we have to survive today, and here’s a plan for recovery: make yourself available to somebody who needs what you’ve got to give and ask for what you need. There are people out there who would be willing and happy to give it to you.

Gather around the coffee table, reach out your cup if it’s empty, and, if yours is full, pour some into somebody else’s.