Puzzles really are a metaphor for life. The sum of all of our parts make up our bodies. The sum of our experiences make up our lives. The dismantling and reassembly of our traumas make for our healing. The blending of many people make up a society.
And so on.
I make no apology over finding myself hopelessly addicted to a new game on my tablet — being a person with lots of downtime and a propensity for repetitive behaviors. I downloadedJust Jigsaws not too long ago and it has become quite the relaxing pastime. You can select for all the outside pieces only to be in view. Form the outside frame one piece at a time and then work on the middle. You can even sort the pieces by color into 4 handy drop boxes.
Sometimes when I am working, the pieces begin to look all the same. My eyes get tired or maybe my focus wanes and I find myself trying the same pieces in the same spaces where they just do not fit. Have you ever done this in your life? Go over and over the same things, feel overwhelmed or out of focus, and keep doing it all with no real understanding?
Don’t we do this in life? We try the same strategies, the same techniques, the same answers, the same relationships — when we already know the pieces just don’t fit? If the pieces don't fit, why is it then so difficult for us to just accept that? We keep trying to either force the pieces of our lives to fit together in a way that simply does not work, or we go out and find new pieces.
It’s time for a new perspective
When the pieces just don’t fit anymore it is time for a new perspective. It is time to change the way we are looking at things to see if we can get a greater understanding of how things will work together more efficiently and in a way that is more healthy for us.
When my puzzle begins to blur and I just can’t find that one piece — I change my perspective and get a new view. It works, every single time.
Zoom out. Look at the big picture.
Without fail when I take a wider view, I stop looking at the intricacies of each piece and trying to make them work. I see a wide-lens view of the general shapes of the pieces and the empty spaces where they belong and suddenly, some of the pieces become very clear. Their shapes jump right out and I see them right away. I can slide them right into place with a satisfying “click.”
Perhaps when the pieces aren’t fitting in your life, taking a step back, getting a little distance and viewing the situation from a wider perspective can help you to see things a little clearly. As humans we insert our emotion, our rosy-colored vision or the complications of past trauma and pain. We think about the time we are investing in that one piece we just know will fit if we keep trying.
If it’s not working — it’s just not working.
Take a step back. Maybe then it can be abundantly clear to you what isn’t working. Zoom out. Perhaps all you need is a new perspective.
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