Sometimes I find examples of the power of mindfulness in the strangest places, activities, or challenges.
Just today I found it in a game on my phone. The game is called Two Dots.
The basic premise of the game is that you draw lines connecting dots of the same color. If you connect 4 in a box, you remove all dots of that color from the board.
It's a great, sometimes maddening game. I'll get stuck on a board for days. If you use up your five lives, they recharge every 20 minutes.
There are power ups, which aren't free, and which are not guaranteed to even help you.
There's this one board, #153, that had eluded me for about two weeks now.
But after 14 days of solid frustration, I had an epiphany. I realized that each board has some one (or more) special technique, move, issue, or concern and if you calm your mind and just pay attention you can pick up what it is, and leverage it to your use.
For those of you still struggling with that very same board, I'll give you a hint. Think of the shape of the letter "P", and use it when making boxes with empty dots.
Anyhow, it totally punched me in the brain this morning how micro moments like this are endlessly repeated in one's larger macro life. When I stop obsessing over how things should be, were, or might be, and pay attention to how they are , I gain special insight into playing the game/living my life well.