What do walking, watermelon, and puzzles all have in common?
That's right-- I LOVE THEM!!!!!
This post is dedicated to my love of puzzles-- jigsaw puzzles, to be more specific. In no particular order, here are my top ten life lessons learned from "puzzling"
1. There is no rush. You can take as long as you want to complete a puzzle. In fact, feeling rushed will diminish the joy of puzzling. You will not enjoy puzzling if you think it should be progressing faster than it is. Move along at a pace that engages your brain, but is pleasant to you.
2. You can take time to do something you thoroughly enjoy, just because you enjoy it. It doesn't have to be "productive". It doesn't have to serve a higher purpose, although I would argue that it does both of those things. It's okay that not everyone enjoys puzzles. If you love them, you get to do them.
3. You can only put one piece together at a time. Well, that's not entirely true. Sometimes you put a whole junk of pieces in their place together. But usually, it is one connection point that clues you in that two bigger parts fit together. In life, this is akin to just taking the next step. I would say taking the right step, but no. Just take the next step. (see lesson #10). You can only focus on one piece at a time.
4. You will see things you couldn't see before. At first, all the tree pieces look the same. As you study them you start to see more. These leaves are slighter brighter green. This curtain pattern is a slightly different angle. An ever so slight difference in the shade of blue in the sky piece, The more carefully you examine the pieces, the more distinguishing marks you will find. If you are working on a certain area and not finding success, move on. Come back to it later and you'll see more than you saw before.
5. You will get the answers when you need them. You start with the parts of the puzzle, like the edges, that you can easily see. Then maybe the pieces with lettering on them. Then the easily distinguishable pictures. You'll probably do the hardest sections of the puzzle last. Line upon line, or rather, piece by piece. You can look and look and look for the piece you need and not find it anywhere. And later, when you're not even looking for it, it will materialize. It is much easier to find a piece when you know what you're looking for.
6. You WILL figure it out and you will complete the puzzle. And like I said in lesson #1, it doesn't matter how long it takes. When you get to those hard parts, you don't panic. You just keep puzzling. You keep trying. Or you may take a break and let your brain and eyes rest and then come back when you feel up to it. You know, eventually, your brain will figure it out.
7. There is no right order to place the pieces. If it's not an issue of right and wrong, a commandment from God, then you get to do things how it works for you to do them. There is more than one way to skin a cat and more than one way to put a puzzle together.
8. Share the puzzle love. When you've completed your puzzle, you have gotten what there is to get from it. Don't store it, don't sell it--you simply pass it along to a friend so they can soak up all the joy! And as you generously share what brings you joy, others will likely join the sharing what brings them joy and you get twice the joy!
9. It takes all kinds. Did you know there are organized minds out there that sort all the puzzle pieces before they start piecing them together? I'm not one of them. There are people who like searching for pieces, but don't like actually placing them? Can you imagine such a thing? There are people who like puzzling with other people? Some people like painting pictures that other people like designing and cutting into puzzles so that other people, like me, can spend hours and hours piecing back together. It takes all kinds.
10. You will try a lot of wrong pieces before you place the right one. Every piece that doesn't fit gives you more information and helps you find the right one. You can try the wrong pieces as many times as you need to. There is no rush.
Now go do a puzzle and pass it along when you're done:)
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