Friday, October 2, 2009

Listening for the Little Things


Often we think of intuition as this sense that helps us to predict the big things: warn us of danger, tell us which job to pick, clue us in on the true motives of that person.

Last week, I couldn’t get the idea of a jigsaw puzzle out of my mind. When I was growing up, my family always had a jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table where any of us would sit down and work on it when we had a spare moment, sometimes together, sometimes separately. I’d forgotten those memories and how much I enjoyed the hours spent trying to figure out how the individual pieces came together to form an amazing picture.

After the idea of a jigsaw puzzle nagged at me for four days, I broke down, drove to Target and bought one. That very night I received bad news about a friend who’s been ill, who likely is living out her final days. Naturally, the news was devastating. But interestingly I’ve found a lot of solace through working on my puzzle. Doing so quiets my mind and creates a sense of peace in me.

It may seem trivial that my intuition was calling for me to get that puzzle last week, but I’m glad I listened.

2 comments:

  1. Oh my, I'm so sorry about your friend. Glad the puzzle is soothing.

    Every year I go on a retreat with some dear friends, and part of the time is spent in silence. One of our favorite activities during silence is working together on a puzzle.

    Fascinating experience to spend time in silence and community!

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  2. Thanks Kathleen. You're the second person I've heard this week mention a silent retreat. It's a good story idea.

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