Sudoku

I love sudoku. This is a slightly new development; I've always enjoyed puzzles, word jumbles, and strategy games, but over the past week, I have discovered that sipping morning coffee and figuring out a sudoku puzzle is one of those simple joys in life that is worth making time for.

And I have learned some lessons from sudoku, which I feel obligated to share. Hint: I'm not just talking about sudoku. 

1. When I first start a sudoku, I immediately feel overwhelmed by the number of possible ways to begin. I usually have a moment of panic where I wonder if I'm really starting the puzzle in the most efficient way. What I found was that the most efficient way to begin is... to begin.

2. Figuring out the puzzle is a constant balance between looking at the big picture and examining each small detail. There's an exciting rhythm to be found in balancing both of these at the same time.

3. Mistakes are fairly inevitable, and sometimes they are helpful. It can be frustrating, but it really isn't that hard to re-trace your steps and figure out where you went wrong. Mistakes in the puzzle will be messy, but an abandoned puzzle will be blank.

4. Use a pen. I'm going to make my mistakes and make them boldly. Pencils make it too easy to be timid, to figure that I can just erase things and start over, to take the whole thing too lightly.

Yup. I'm a little addicted to sudoku these days. It's a stretch, but this is what I've learned from sudoku this week:
Something that seems random and chaotic and meaningless can become
(with a little gentle re-arrangement, with a little persistence, with a lot of coffee)
something ordered and coherent and... (I'm really stretching things here) beautiful.