Blursday on Soft Focus

 

In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it.

Isaiah 30:15

So.

This pretty much sums up what Ken and I did yesterday.  Just this.

Not quite true.  There were still dishes to do, turkey pies to make, a fridge and freezer to reorganize, and other 'we had a big Christmas dinner here yesterday' stuff to put away.  But after that, a little later in the morning, we set up the small table, poured out the pieces, and just went at it.

There's something so soft about puzzling.  After the all the happy bustle of the season, the lingering over pieces, the sorting out of colours, the little dopamine hit when you find that one piece that finishes off a section; all lays like warm cotton to mute and blend and soften the edges of my conscious self while at the same time bringing me fully present in this simple moment.

It was ironic how, as the picture we were creating came slowly into focus, the rest of the day blurred into irrelevance.  We lost track of time.  Had a late lunch break, but sat down again right away and just stayed with the puzzle.  It being Sunday and us not being at church didn't help.  The whole day just sort of slowly spread out like thick sweet batter in a pan.  Before I knew it it was 3:30 and already starting to get dark.  Wait, what?

We can get disoriented when the regular flow of life is interrupted even by happy things like Christmas.  "Blursday."  Whoever came up with that describes it well.  So this morning, my first thoughts were to regain some sense of order and control.  To - oh I know! Make a list!!  Which is...ooookaaaaay.  But then again, I have determined to take a 'real' holiday this week.  To rest.  To recharge.  To pay attention to my own body and soul, and to do....less.  To avoid the chastening of the last line of Isaiah 30:15.  To maybe blur things a little, and lose myself in something soft like puzzling.  Maybe I'll bring Blursday into a teeny little better focus, but not all the way.

So while I did make a list, it's light.  And 'in pencil'  so maybe a bit smudgy.  And in truth, I'm hoping that the week holds more days of losing track of time softly, letting the edges blur some.  And here's where I often find gratitude grows.  For some reason, in these quite moments, all the blessings of this past year visit me.  

Again with the weather though!  Hope everyone has their power back on by this morning.  Ken and I only saw flickers but otherwise we were fine.  And anyone who is heading back to work this morning, be safe out there.