Background Check

I find it surprising, but I seem to have lost my taste for music. Not all music, but I certainly don’t listen to it with the intensity that I did ten years ago. I don’t remember when I started to love music, but I do remember my intense desire to play the piano. Piano fostered my love of classical music and The Beatles were the first to lure me to rock. Jazz and blues were added in midlife. There are a few genres that I have never been fond of, but I listen far less to the ones I do love.

I realized the other day that I had eliminated most background music from my life. For years, I wore headphones almost constantly while I worked. Music played, whenever I drove the car. I played music when I read. I played music when I ate. Sometimes, I even let music lull me off to sleep. Now, I only enjoy music, if it has my total focus. Although I listen less, I enjoy it more.

That’s true of many things in my life, I suppose. I no longer run until I drop and multitasking has been eliminated from my vocabulary. If the view outside the window is pretty, I take the time to savor it. Whether I’m writing a post or listening to my family, I take the time to enjoy the process. Some call this “living in the now”. For me, it has become living.