Missing Jars and Lessons Learned

Four weeks into this project, two jars found and two missing. I really felt the loss of jar number 4. After the beautiful way it was placed, my heart skipped when I was told it had gone. I kept checking my email waiting with baited breath for it to be reported. 
I had a conversation with a friend about it, saying each jar is like my baby, I just want to know it's safe and sound. 
He reminded me that although it is great, instant gratification isn't the name of the game. 
'On an endeavour like this, you've gotta look at it all as whole. Not every jar is going to get reported, but they're all necessary for the brilliant moments the project brings. Every unreported jar is a down payment on a new friend, or a touching message, or a moment of personal accomplishment.'
I bow to my friend for reminding me what this project is about and why I started it. It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of a found jar and forget about what it meant to make it and set it out in the wild.  


I have also come to realise that it is a little about letting go. I don't have much control over my life, so the things I can control a little, I tend to hold onto for dear life. 
But this project is teaching me that really there is no control. The harder I hold onto something, the more pain and panic I experience. 

Kirsty, the women who inspired me to start this said in her blog: "Its a very Zen experience, sometimes mired in struggle but there's a beauty to it too: the jars truly are my greatest teacher this year"