Last weekend, my husband made an impulse purchase at the mall.
It's probably not what you're thinking. It wasn't even anything for himself. It was actually a puzzle for me.
"A puzzle?" I can hear you asking.
Yes. He knows I like puzzles - but this wasn't any old puzzle. It was a murder mystery puzzle, where you ready a little story first, and then assemble the puzzle to find the clues and solve the murder.
I was hooked!
But it wasn't just me. This puzzle gradually drew in all members of the household. By the end of the day, there were 5 of us assembled around the table, strategizing, complaining, laughing, and humming along to the music playing in the background.
Somewhere in the middle, I realized that assembling a puzzle is a lot like living your life. Here's how:
Begin with the pieces that draw you in, the colours the patterns, whatever that may be. You have to start somewhere.
If you begin to struggle, seek out new pieces. It's OK if you don't have all the answers yet.
Find and assemble all the end pieces, so you have a framework to work with. This keeps you from feeling lost.
Look out for others. If you see a piece that someone else could use, pass it on. Be helpful!
When you can't get anything to fit and it becomes difficult to move forward, take a break. Stand up. Step back. Look at the larger picture. Sometimes we get too close to a problem and we need a greater perspective to solve it.
It's OK to switch sections. You don't have to stay where things aren't working.
Working with others is much more fulfilling and rewarding than trying to do it all yourself.
Music makes everything better.
We all stayed right until the end, working on the difficult background section where all the pieces look the same, each of us taking a shot, trying a different piece in turn. And when the puzzle was finally finished, we cheered. And thus a snowy winter day was spent.
Life is like a puzzle.