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The Jigsaw Puzzle Of Life

I loved jigsaw puzzles as a child. The entire process of attempting to arrange the separate pieces of a puzzle in the correct manner to ensure that they form one complete picture was an amazing journey! Even though I am 31 years old now, jigsaw puzzles continue to fascinate me – of course, instead of solving a picture made of 200 pieces, today, I try solving a puzzle of 5000 pieces.

I also feel that my world is nothing but a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece of me is what helps in the creation of the picture of my world. There are some pieces which show my likes. Similarly, there are pieces that show all the things I do not like. There are some pieces I proudly showcase before the world and there are those pieces which I always try hiding in a corner. Some pieces are easy to join and they just seem to fall in place effortlessly. In the same manner, there are some things in life that come to us very easily. There are some pieces which we feel belong to a particular area and actually we may end up fixing them in the wrong place. This happens to us at so many junctures of life. We keep fixating on a particular desire and we keep getting restless if it remains unfulfilled. At this point, we feel stuck because we are not able to progress towards the completion of the picture. Our life comes to a stand-still and we start operating from a tunnel-vision where all that matters is fulfilment of that desire. In the process, we start moving away from the process of actually living our life. We stop the process of completing the picture because we are just not able to remove the piece from that area. It is important, at this juncture, to note that the piece by itself is not wrong. It is alright to have wishes and desires. The trick is to balance our attention in such a manner that we are able to focus on other things in life as well instead of just getting fixated at that one spot. With time, as we keep fitting various pieces together, the number of missing pieces will automatically lessen.

Completing a jigsaw puzzle with 1000 pieces itself takes me more than 3 days. The puzzle of life has millions of such pieces – many of the pieces still waiting to be discovered. We do not know each and every aspect of our personality. Some secrets we harbour are so well-kept that they are hidden from our view too! Not all of us have a complete picture of life – having the complete picture would, perhaps, take several lifetimes. Therefore, the true joy cannot simply lie in completing the picture – perhaps, joy can be experienced by simply being at peace with the missing pieces.

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