How do you bring stillness into your life?
Meditation? Reading? Taking a long walk?
One thing we’ve been doing recently is jigsaw puzzles. I loved doing jigsaw puzzles growing up, and have really enjoyed doing them again recently.
I talk to my 20-year-old brother-in-law and feel like, “Damn, we’re old.” But you know what? I’m ok with it.
It is calm, quiet, enjoyable.
The pragmatist in me is torn. I like making and building things. I put together a puzzle and within 5 minutes of the final piece going in, it’s taken apart and put back in the box. I’ve created nothing.
But does that mean there’s no benefit? You can read about all sorts of benefits online. Essentially, it’s mental exercise.
Clicking a piece into place literally feels good. It makes you want to do more.
I’ve read that there is a release of dopamine when we find success at something, even something as simple as a jigsaw puzzle. This is the same effect we get seeing a positive reaction on social media - but without all of the associated negative side effects.
What interests you? I’m sure there’s a puzzle out there for it. I couldn’t care less about generic landscape or flower pictures when it comes to puzzles. But we’ve found some fun Harry Potter and Star Wars puzzles, even one from the show The Office.
We have two kids at home. They’re great kids and I wouldn’t change a thing, but needless to say, it can get a bit chaotic around here. Doing puzzles in the evening has been a nice way to bring some calm, some stillness, back into our lives after the kids go to bed.
What do you do to bring some stillness into your life? Clearly, I recommend giving puzzles a try. Share a comment below