Life is a Puzzle

For the first time in my life, I completed a jigsaw puzzle all by myself. I remember doing puzzles with my mother as a teenager. Looking back on it I realize it was usually during times of stress and change in my life. I think it was something we could do together that was slow, focused and meditative. My motor skills have also always been a bit wonky do to some misprocessing stuff in my brain. I think in her infinite mommy wisdom she knew this would be good for me.

So as a quarter closed, I was dealing and as I was facing a job interview (I got the job, more on that later blog entries) I almost instinctively felt a strong desire to do a puzzle.

I started just the way momma taught me, painstakingly sorting through the pieces so that I could separate the edges from the non-edges.

For a week I worked on the puzzle bit by bit. Each day more of the picture came together. It was a slow process.  Sometimes it felt like I was not getting very far at all. I started taking photos of it, to gage my process.  When I compared the photos it became clear that I was indeed moving forward, things were happening. I was making strides to get to were I wanted to be.

The reason I write this entry is not to confess what a nerd I am (although I am, and I own it) but to explain how doing this puzzle was a micro example of life in general.  Sometimes we don’t realize how much progress we are making to create the big picture. We forget where we are going, and get stuck in the trial and error, the slowness of the process. But the truth is, it is coming together piece by piece even if we don’t see it.

Oh and for the record I completed the puzzle, but lost one piece.  Which helps make my other point about life… sometimes it does not work the way you want it to, but you move on, and learn to be content with what did go right.