I fell in love with jigsaw puzzles a few weeks ago.
It started with my oldest son. We were working on a puzzle together, and I was so absorbed that it took me a while to realize he had already moved on to something else, while I was still trying to find the eyes of the dolphin.
Now, in the evenings, after the kids are in bed, if I’m not asleep myself, I work on puzzles. Actually, Noah’s puzzles. My husband even gifted me a Cinque Terre puzzle, so I don’t have to spend all my evenings on puppies and fairies anymore 🙂
At some point, I realized something: what I was really craving wasn’t just lying down or doing nothing. I wanted something to keep my hands busy while my mind wandered freely, connecting dots and generating ideas.
What I was really craving was flow.
Flow is that precious state where you know the end goal, like finding the dolphin 🙂, where the challenge keeps you engaged but never blocks you, and where you’re so absorbed in what you’re doing that the world around you fades away. You do it for the sheer joy of doing it, not for the reward.
And I realized that maybe the same could happen while traveling.
What if the joy of a trip isn’t just seeing a place, but immersing yourself fully in it with you hands. Kneading fresh pasta, stirring a pot of milk as it slowly turns into cheese, picking vegetables straight from the garden?
Maybe the real gift isn’t just the skill you learn, but the space it creates for your mind to wander, to notice things you might otherwise miss.
In Val d’Orcia, this is exactly what a day can feel like: your hands busy, your senses alive, and the iconic Tuscan countryside all around you.
What if travel wasn’t about escaping or relaxing, but about discovering something new inside yourself?
What are your hands curious to try, so your mind can wander freely?
I’d love to hear!
