Yogis,
I am halfway through my second 1000 piece puzzle! My puzzle sum is always a good
barometer of the winter we are having. What’s your barometer?
For perspective, last winter was extremely mild and I didn’t
even open a box to start one. This winter though has brought ice, frigid temps
and winds. For me to devote the time required to complete a puzzle, and have the
desire to do so, the weather has to force me inside.
Physically and mentally.
Doing a puzzle requires a shift. It is a mental activity and every time I get into one, I am reminded of life lessons mirrored in its successful completion.
The first is slowing down. A puzzle, like life, is not a
race. You can’t start a puzzle and set a timer. It moves at its own pace. I
find the slower I approach it, the more successful I am.
The next, which goes hand in hand with slowing down, is
patience. In a world brimming with annoyances, the ability to consciously turn
patience on is powerful. Patience allows steady forward progress. When
impatience rises, it’s time to walk away.
When I stand up and look from afar the blues all look the same. The sky section will be impossible! I lean in and get closer. Subtle differences in the shades. Differing patterns I hadn’t noticed. To get to know something…..get close.
Another is being present. Immersed in ‘now’. When I decide
to work on the puzzle I have to detach from outer activities. For that time my
full attention must be on the table. Hearing my breath. I can tell when I get
distracted because progress halts. I must notice and pull my awareness back to
this moment.
And finally, my favorite……letting go. There will be a particular piece I am looking for. Green stem with brown edge on side. I look and look. Trying hard to find it. Deciding the piece must be missing. It’s not here…….until I let go. Shoulders dropped and gaze softened. No longer trying. Shifting from looking to seeing the table as it is.
Oh, there you are!
Learning her lessons,
SARAH
