There's a Harp Inside

Photo Taken By: Lisa Melara

Anyone who has owned an acoustic piano has had to have it tuned a couple of times a year.  As a relatively new piano owner, I was mesmerized and somewhat shocked the first time I had my piano tuned. The shock came in two waves. First, my piano was suddenly in dozens of pieces on the floor, including all eighty-eight keys.  Second, inside this seemingly simple instrument, was a harp.  The piano harp is the part of the piano that connects the tuning pins to the strings, so it needs to be able to withstand a tremendous amount of tension.

Aren’t we all somewhat like a piano? Our bodies are external carriers of our internal workings, our spirit, thoughts, heart, sound, and infinite creativity. We, too, have a harp that enables our thoughts and actions to take shape. Our harp also must withstand a great deal of pressure from internal and external forces.

Most importantly, like the inside of a piano, most people know little about what makes us tick or play or do the things we are meant to do.  The package does not always reveal the contents. It is only when we pause, deconstruct a bit, and dissect our internal workings that we really see what we are capable of.  Call it a tuning, maintenance, or the art of hard work, we all need to attempt this.

Much like a piano, we need to address and care for our internal contents. It is essential to become aware that we are more than what people see. We are more than what we choose to show on a resume, or on social media or at a gathering.

Do we, too, need a tuning at least twice a year when the seasons change? Do we need a major rearrangement of parts prompted by a once in a lifetime pandemic? Could we benefit from a daily reordering?  Can we get comfortable doing a monthly tune-up and the spilling and reordering of all our contents?

I suggest that we do need to take this type of action, preferably on a simple scale so that we are more likely to do it. Taking care of ourselves is not only essential but normal and permissible. Think about taking time before summer fades to do your own tuning.  What awaits may bring harmony, dispel dissonance, and invite creativity.  This seemingly simple attention to the invisible will bring us closer to our true, natural, and happiest of selves.