Sometimes it’s good to distinguish and parse out bits and pieces of our lives, to really examine each one separately. At other times it’s good to tie them together and see it all as one. Making sense of things is one of our greatest capacities as human beings. From the time we are infants, we struggle to make sense of what something is, how it works, and what its purpose is. How, what, and why … whether it’s an event or a relationship or an object: we always wonder about it. Studies have shown that when students—in preparing for an exam—read nonsense poems like “Jabberwocky” or a short (seemingly nonsensical) story by Franz Kafka, they score higher on tests. It’s because they’ve activated the making-sense-of-it-all part of their brains. Puzzles do this too. In a mystery story, when we tie together all the loose ends of a plot, we feel we’ve accomplished something. Through tying things together, we create a coherence in our lives. When we become still, that is the lovely grace that occurs: the troublesome details become part of a much greater whole. If you’re feeling all over the place, stillness ties it all together for you. It helps you to realize unity, wholeness, and peacefulness. When we’ve made sense of all those red herrings and complicated twists and turns, we experience a great satisfaction.
