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October 11, 2006
Missing pieces
When I was a kid, jigsaw puzzles were common in our house, especially during the holiday season. Something about finding that one perfect piece amongst the hundreds that could have, should have fit but didn't gave me hope and perserverance to finish the puzzle.
Lately I have found the life is more like the table top puzzles of my childhood than I realized. We work on the edges first, so to confine ourselves in an area, define who and what we are, and then work inward, making the picture match what is on the box. For some of us, we constantly force that one piece into an area we are convinced belongs 'right there', only to find that our conviction was incorrect and frustration sets in. Then there are the easy pieces, the obvious ones, that take little to no effort, but are satisfying nonetheless in completion.
But the best piece of all is the 'there you are' piece, the ones that come out of nowhere, maybe hidden under the floor rug or the puzzle box lid, the piece that you didn't know you were searching for, that you needed, but found when you least expected it. The piece that you didn't believe even existed.
People are like that, I think. The easy aquaintnences, easy fitting pieces that float in and out of your life without regret or fanfare; the nameless influences that may remain but provide great background in your life; the straight, the narrow, the jagged, the crooked people that give vivid detail and color to life; but then there is the 'there you are' people. A handful of people that can connect deeply whether in moments or years and once that bond is made, the puzzle is complete.
The happiest moment a jigsaw fan has is the completion of the puzzle, and so it should be with life.
Hold onto your pieces, because I can tell you personally when you find and then lose one of those precious 'there you are' pieces, you are never the same.
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Sorry for the existential/tangential mumblings...back to normal Tish stuff soon. Promise.
Posted by Tish at October 11, 2006 09:28 PM
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Comments
"when you find and then lose one of those precious 'there you are' pieces, you are never the same"
Ain't it the truth! The hole in the picture becomes all you can see, overwhelming any beauty in the rest of the picture until you never see it no matter how often you look.
Bloody jigsaws.
Posted by: Stegbeetle at October 12, 2006 03:53 AM
True statement. Lost pieces in life prove unretrievable.
Posted by: Skunkfeathers at October 12, 2006 07:39 AM
I never had the patience to complete jigsaw puzzles, or at least any more than 50 or so pieces (could I have been denied an ADD diagnosis? who knows).
But being the youngest of four boys, a great amount of puzzles and board games were handed down or family possessions. That being the case, there were more than a few times where game pieces were misplaced into the boxes of other games. Puzzles were no exception.
Have you ever worked on a puzzle, and found yourself looking at a piece that seemed right but just did not fit the picture you were building? And when you realize how long you've spent trying to figure out where it belongs, you then find yourself laughing?
I'm that piece.
Posted by: Charlie on PA Turnpike at October 12, 2006 08:00 AM
Oh-O. "There's something happening here, what is ain't exactly......"
I like thisTish too, from attracting gorgeous, (I'm told) hunks like Buford to PT to Philosophy, there's nothing you can't do.
Except maybe puzzles.
I think we always expect all of our puzzles to have a completion, an all together, because the maker said there'd be. I believe that often we're not given all the pieces in life and we will never find that which we need even if we know their shape. Or maybe there are poor searchers. Whatever the reason, many puzzles are never finished.
I like your post a heck of a lot more than my comment though.
Posted by: Paul of York at October 12, 2006 01:41 PM
An interesting analogy. I've noticed that children often hide one piece so they can be sure to complete the puzzle. Perhaps life if like that too. We're holding onto something we think we need but we really need to offer it to others, to be complete. There's my attempt at being deep. Maybe, I should leave it to the deep thinkers. I never was good at puzzles.
Posted by: pennyhalston at October 12, 2006 05:20 PM
That was really well written and very heartfelt.
Sadly, it's also wrong.
Life is not like a puzzle. It's like a rubics cube. I have done extensive research, and can prove this.
But nice try. :}
Posted by: Ignatius Dedd at October 13, 2006 04:50 PM
i really, really liked this. great post.
Posted by: sean at October 14, 2006 12:53 AM