Tag Archives: problems

A Puzzle Parable

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A few weeks ago I solicited advice for putting together this puzzle. It was a gift from my fella who thought I would like the artwork that includes two adorable penguins. I like penguins and it really is up my alley so he gets bonus points for knowing me so well.

Unfortunately, this is a much harder puzzle than I’m used to with pieces of irregular shapes and sizes and a dark sky that’s nearly impossible to decode. It took a while but I finally made peace with the fact I am never going to finish that dark sky. 

And that’s ok.

I thoroughly enjoyed completing the lower half and seeing these adorable creatures take shape. That’s the part that means the most to me. Still, it  took a while to stop feeling like a failure and to admit that not finishing the rest isn’t really a big deal. 

And honestly, if I had continued trying to distinguish between the 41 shades of dark blue that make up the indistinguishable texture of this sky, I might have actually lost my mind. 

This seems like a good parable for the small problems of life. 

How many times have you faced a situation where you’ve had to surrender? Where you’ve taken care of the important stuff but can’t quite figure out the rest? What does it matter if you can’t do the part that is inconsequential when you’ve figured out the parts that really matter?

One important part of humanity is accepting that you don’t have all the answers. It’s understanding that there are things we cannot possibly comprehend or know. We can shuffle around the pieces all we like and try to distinguish between the undistinguishable all we want. That doesn’t mean it will make a difference. 

Sometimes it will just make us crazy.

Solving The Unsolvable With Help From The Cat

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Christmas brought me a new jigsaw puzzle. This 500 piece puzzle features some cute woodland creatures gathered around a fire in a forest clearing. 

It’s larger in size than a typical puzzle and the pieces are cut in unusual ways. They aren’t uniform and some are rather large while others are kind of small. I knew it would be hard because so much of the image is dark night sky and snowy trees. 

I had no idea it would be the hardest puzzle I have ever worked on. 

It has been set up on the dining room table for couple of weeks. If I have a few minutes, I stop and fiddle with it a bit. Some of the pieces are cut odd oddly enough you can’t tell if they’re border pieces or if they are just cut straight. Edges are usually my first step and I build inward. For this one, I did what I could with the edges before focusing on the animals. 

That has worked well but I’m now up to sky and trees and the pieces all look alike. I was lamenting this fact Sunday night as I sifted and dug through hundreds of pieces that are devoid of any defining characteristics. 

Scout isn’t permitted on the dining room table so he was blissfully unaware there was a project underway until he noticed this weekend. Now he can’t unsee it and refuses to leave it alone. 

He hopped up on a chair and began carefully and oh so gently moving pieces around. He wasn’t sure what was happening but finding 500 small cardboard pieces at his disposal was awfully handy for an idle little boy who only has dozens of store bought cat toys to amuse him.

He normally is forced to play with old bottle caps and wadded up papers he fishes out of a trash can.  This was a delightful change of plans, he seemed to say, as he gently pushed three sky pieces to the floor below. 

Isn’t this a great analagy for life? 

I mean, you’re walking around life with a box full of small problems that you’re doing your best to fix and puzzles you’re trying to solve. Then someone else comes along and decides to offer unsolicited advice or blatantly meddle and you’re back to square one in the search for answers.  

Sigh. 

Such is life. 

While I do my best to keep the cat away from the puzzle, I can’t resist asking a question. Do you have tips for assembling a puzzle like this? I would appreciate help before I descend into madness! .

Problems And Fresh Perspective

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This week has been challenging. I’m tired and haven’t felt well since getting a flu shot. Everyone needs something. Lots of people are picking at each other. Things just aren’t going well and obstacles have been the norm rather than the exception to the rule.

The key phrase yesterday was “you’ve got to be kidding me.”

A full blown tantrum has been on the horizon for several days.

But a work errand sent me to Columbus yesterday where I drove past Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House. There was a woman wrangling two small children outside Ronald McDonald House and it occurred to me there are people out there with real, life threatening problems.

So I took a big breath of fresh air and decided it best to appreciate the good in my problems. That’s not to say they aren’t real but my issues right now would fall into a category that should be marked “Headaches” rather than “Day-Shattering-Tantrum-Inducing-Crises.”

I’m busy because people need me and because I have a job. That flu shot was covered by my health insurance and may keep me healthy later. Those obstacles that keep screwing up my schedule? That could all be a plot by the universe to keep me alive for another day. If an accident happens in the blink of an eye, all these delays could be preventing something terrible from making matters worse.

Sometimes you just have to pause a moment and reframe things. A good gulp of fresh air and a new perspective never hurt anyone.

Let’s see what hurdles this day holds, shall we?