Life Lessons: Sudokus

 I did my first Sudoku six years ago.  I was on a SW Airlines flight from Portland to Chicago.  The snack box had a Sudoku printed on the side.  I’d never done one because I thought they were like math puzzles and I’m no math whiz.  But my sister had told me they were FUN, so why not try? 

When I finished it, I checked it from every angle.  Correctly solved.

About a year later, I was facing gall bladder surgery.  I felt scared and anxious.  I thought doing Sudokus might distract me.  I bought a book of them at Target and did four or five a day.  They DID keep my mind occupied.

FIRST LESSON:  Doing a Sudoku is a great distraction and stress reliever.

Since then, I’ve built my skills.  I do one or two a day.  I’ve plowed through the Martial Arts Sudoku series and have completed White Belt, Green Belt, Brown Belt, and am now on the last section of Black Belt level–SUPER TOUGH.  Some days I complete the morning’s puzzle perfectly the first time.  Other days, I get stuck, make stupid mistakes.  Not enough caffeine?

Last spring, during the weeks before and after my father’s death, I noticed I was a terrible worker of Sudokus.   I wasn’t conscious of  the sadness and stress distracting me, but apparently it was.

SECOND LESSON:  When you’re stressed or sad or worried, your brain doesn’t work the same. 

In doing the super tough Sudokus, I usually pencil in all the possible numbers for each square.  There’s no way to rush the process.  I must proceed carefully.  Sometimes I have 81 squares full of little pencilled numbers, only a few solutions.  It looks impossible.  Then I find one correct answer.  That leads to another, and the puzzle gradually gets solved like falling dominoes.  

THIRD LESSON:  When life gets hard, just do the next tiny step carefully, accurately, patiently.  Eventually, the solution will appear.

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