Tuning Up

Last week I had a piano tuner come by and, well what do you expect? He tuned the piano. Anyway, he was an interesting fellow, an older gentleman who has had his share of loss. But he was very emphatic that he is happy today. As he brought my old piano back into tune, he began to explain that he has embraced the freedom of now. Kind of a Carpe Diem approach to life.

The freedom of now means being in the present, focusing on doing your best and doing what makes you happy now. He explained that focus on today allows you to release the regret and pain of yesterday. It also relieves the pressure of tomorrow. Do what's right today and tomorrow will take care of itself. Even if what's right today turns out to be wrong tomorrow, you'll fix it when tomorrow becomes today. Hhhhmmm.

Now I've always been of the design school of thought. You know, live by design leads to happiness by design. The major flaw I've discovered with this is that there's only two possible outcomes - success or failure. Happiness or unhappiness. I realize now that life is not that binary. Nor is it linear or formulaic. Life is dynamic, uncertain, and often out of tune. Sometimes, you just have to tune it up.