Lately I feel that life is like a
sodoku puzzle, the logic-based number puzzle. In sodoku, if you enter the wrong
number in a box, you eventually find out that you have successfully screwed up all
of the other areas of the puzzle. One false assumption, and all of the actions you
take based on that assumption just lead you deeper into the woods.
I inherited a belief in scarcity. As a little girl, I sat with my mother while she paid bills. What I learned from her was that there was never enough money. And that belief stuck with me. Even as an adult when I earned a good income, the feeling of “never enough” always stayed with me, even when there was plenty.
The false belief in scarcity was like a wrong number in a sodoku puzzle. It kept me from seeing that I have always had enough in my life (and often more than enough). I have more than enough food. There is art on my walls I no longer notice, clothes in my closet I no longer wear and things stored in boxes that I no longer use. On my walk I see apple trees heavy with fruit, flowers that blossom, heedless of the calendar, and birds that sing simply because the sun came up again.
Stockpiling for an unseen future keeps me worried. Becoming aware of the abundance surrounding me in the present moment, lifts my heart.
If you’re trapped in a feeling of scarcity and lack, go back to your assumptions. What faulty premise are you operating under? Like a wrong number in a sudoku, you can go back and erase it. And when the rest of the numbers fall easily into place, you get that satisfying little ping that you’re back on the right path.
Nice metaphor but I'm more optimistic.
Posted by: Sudoku | December 28, 2009 at 08:43 AM