“The problem is not that there are problems.  The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.”

— Theodore Isaac Rubin

It seems like only a week ago that I was saying, “Welcome to Monday,” and here we are again.  The weekend is done, and the unscheduled days of taking a break from the routine of the workweek are over.  It has been wonderful to enjoy the freedom to choose  what I will do and when I will do it, to have the feeling that my time is my own, and now it is time to return to the repetitive responsibilities that are the framework of my weekday schedule.  It is time to bring my renewed weekend energy to the challenges I laid down on Friday and, hopefully, look at them with fresh eyes.

One of the ways I treated myself this weekend was by working some puzzles.  I love puzzles.  Hard puzzles.  Bring ‘em on!  There is something about taking the time to work my way through a difficult Sudoku or an Expert crossword puzzle that leaves me with a sense of accomplishment — of competency — that makes me smile and give myself a virtual high-five as I close the book and put my pencil back in the holder.  I always have enjoyed puzzles, from jigsaws to Math problems, especially the ones that call upon me to stretch my thinking muscles and use my brain to its fullest capacity.

Isn’t it funny how we seek entertainment by solving puzzles, but we become distraught and try to avoid solving the problems that pop up in our lives?  It is so easy to feel singled-out during times when it seems that each new day presents an equally new dilemma for us to solve.  When I think about it, I come to the conclusion that I love puzzles because I know that when I persevere and see them through the moment will come when I close the book with a solution noted in black and white.  Life’s problems tend to be less predictable and more messy than the ones in my puzzle book.  Sometimes it is hard to know whether we have solved them or not.  Some sort of fade away, and we move on with the hope that some good has come of our work.  Some seem to surface, again and again, as though some demonic force had erased half of our work while we slept.  Every life has problems built into it.  We know this is true, but still it is easy to feel as though our own are far more difficult than those of anyone else.

The problem is not that there are problems.  The problem is that we think that is a problem.  Since today is Monday, and since Monday always offers us the opportunity to start fresh and bring our rested weekend minds to whatever lies ahead, let’s grab this brand new chance to reframe our view of problems.  Let’s bring the same sort of enthusiasm to the problems we do not choose to solve that we bring to the games we play and the puzzles we choose.  Let’s find the same thrill of the adventure in whatever comes our way that we seek in the recreational pursuits that stretch our mental muscles.

I would like to take the word, “problem,” right off the table and replace it with “challenge.”  I would like to start my fresh, new week feeling confident that my brain is ready for some challenges that will cause it to grow.  Rather than feel as though we have no hope of closing the book on today’s challenges, let’s see ourselves closing the book at the end of the day and knowing that tomorrow will offer another chance to return to our work toward solutions.  Today I will be thankful for the challenges that call on me to grow.