Joan Patrakis wrote this insight: "I love making jigsaw puzzles! Especially ones that show a collection of items — buttons, marbles, jelly beans, etc. I'm fascinated by the variety of colors, shapes, designs and how they fit together to form the whole picture. Puzzling is therapy for my overloaded brain, helping it to sort things and figure out a game plan.

"I do the borders first — then I'm drawn to an object or color. I sort one section at a time. Often, if I stand back and look at the puzzle from another angle, I see something I didn't notice before.

"When I work on one I leave it on a small table in front of a window seat. I can sit for hours or take a quick stab at it when I have only a few minutes. The puzzle might sit for weeks. I'm in no hurry. The object is to make the puzzle in my leisure.

"Through the years I've come to realize a jigsaw puzzle teaches valuable life lessons. It challenges me to be patient, persistent and open to all possibilities. It prods me to see the close up view, as well as the overall one and to look at the picture from other angles. In other words, it teaches me there is more than one way to look at things. Its most obvious lesson is this: a 'puzzle can be solved piece by piece.'"

Joan's last sentence reminds me of a favorite quote, which comes to my mind when I'm facing a complex matter. In Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit was overcome with work and asked the King where to begin. The King said, "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop." I have said this to myself and others a thousand times.

I'm routinely polyphasic (thinking of several things at once). Sometimes it's so bad I describe it as "busy-brain." When too many thoughts are buzzing, I resort to "bouncing ball therapy." It may be silly, but it works. I take a rubber ball and bounce it on the floor from one hand to the other, concentrating on the ball and catching it, thinking only of the ball and nothing else. It's a form of meditation but works better for me than sitting on the floor counting breaths.

A little different but similar: if I have a big problem that needs concentration, I'll find a project that needs physical work, preferably outdoors. The project distracts much of by brain, allowing the rest of it to concentrate on my big problem.

My wife, Katharine, supplied the following insight. It falls under the old saw, "No news is bad news."

Katharine says, " When people in an uncertain situation aren't given information, they'll often fill the void with the worst-case scenario. As an example, I saw the following when I was a human resources director. During a particularly difficult time, several employees walked past a boardroom filled with executives, who were starting a meeting that had not been posted on any schedules. Immediately, gossip screamed throughout the office that layoffs were afoot. This could have been avoided if the purpose of the meeting, which was mundane, had been posted.

"On an individual level, an email that receives no response can cause a friend to fret that you are unhappy with her, when the real reason might be that your laptop is on the fritz. Recently, I was upset and hurt when a Facebook "friend request" to a long-lost buddy went unaccepted for weeks. When it was finally accepted, I learned that her tardy response was due to her being sick from her chemotherapy!

"Since I am a major offender of the 'filling an information vacuum with my own insecurities' pitfall, I believe in giving as much information as possible, repeatedly, and in writing. Don't give people a chance to transplant their worries into an information void."

There are many more bits of wisdom and insights that I've received from you, my readers, and I ask that you keep sending them. The "Wisdom of Experience" will be a permanent part of future columns.

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Bill Dalton writes a weekly column for the Andover Townsman and likes to hear from you at billdalton@andovertownie.com.