A JigSaw Puzzle Life

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Avatar for Jane
Written by
3 years ago

October 22, 2021

Last Wednesday, I came across this post of @marblely on noisecash about the Jigsaw puzzle as a metaphor for life. And this inspired me to write this article.

Click the image to see the post

Have you ever felt like there is still a missing piece in your life, or you seem lost in your way?

Way back when I was a kid, I perceived the world as a huge complex puzzle and things were tough to fathom. When my father bought a jigsaw puzzle for me, I played it sloppily by just placing every piece of it on the empty spaces where I want to place the piece without considering if it does fit into it or would it form a correct pattern in the end. Because for me, that was just a toy that I had to play with.

But there were moments that I wanted to match and fit all the pieces into their respective spaces and pay attention to their knobs and holes to form complete and correct patterns on the jigsaw puzzle board. And I felt overwhelmed once I assembled it well and saw perfect patterns. And due to pretty little accomplishments, I would play it again and again until I mastered the process of assembling the jigsaw puzzles like a piece of cake.

Remembering those innocent days, I feel like there were still millions of gems and stones I have yet to collect, paths I have yet to find, and jigsaw puzzles I have yet to solve. And I could feel like, in my early '30s, my life is still a messy unsolved puzzle and I am still in a daze finding which path to follow every time I reach the end of a certain tunnel. Will I go east, west, north, or south, or get back to where I started? That's always the question.

Even if I already have collected many pieces in my life and have been to many places, there are still missing pieces and places that I have yet to find. But as the adage goes, "everything happens for a reason and things would just fall into place."

Taking down memory lane when I was asked by my elementary teacher, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" For the sake of compliance, I answered her, "I want to be a teacher" as my relatives were teachers. Then the song Que Sera Sera was played by her and she taught us the meaning of the song. "The future's not ours to see. Whatever will be will be." This was the lesson from the song I never forget up to this date.

When I grew up, things constantly changed as well as my dreams and decisions in life. I started dreaming to be a Computer Engineer when I was in High School and followed my preferred path and took a Computer Science degree in College.

But as I stepped out of the university and faced the world of work, thoughts of diverting my path to achieve a better life filled my mind due to uncertainties and burdens that life has thrown at me, and fear of missing out as I have seen how my batch mates excelled from the path they have chosen and attained better lives. I kept juggling from one job to another as I couldn't find the missing piece that I wanted to fit into my jigsaw puzzle board.

I think you have already seen this photo many times πŸ™ˆ

There was even one time I lost my way and found it hard to get back on track. I was in the middle of the complex road and undecided about which path to follow. The one that was chosen by others, or the one I prefer to take. But due to uncertainties, I have chosen the path that was outlined by others.

I had regrets about choosing the preferences of other people over mine as many things were spared by fate and it left me no choice but to consider their wants and needs into account. And thinking about the byproducts of my actions, every piece seems not to fit in the jigsaw puzzle pattern I have designed at the beginning of my endeavor. And even if I collected all the pieces with similar shapes and colors, I couldn't assemble them well to perfectly form the pattern I have made as knobs and holes of every piece don't fit into each other, and some pieces went missing that made the whole pattern totally different.

But then again I just told myself, "it happened for a reason and I am on a new path for another reason."

While taking this new path to look for the missing pieces, I then realized, "why do we have to look for the missing pieces if we can make new jigsaw puzzle patterns?"

Click the image to see the post

Things don't fall into place that I was expecting but better patterns were formed.

Every person I've met, every place I've been to, everything I've got, every opportunity I grabbed, and every achievement I obtained, all were placed into my jigsaw puzzle life but my journey for looking for some missing pieces will continue so I could fit them into the remaining spaces.

Not all things will fall into place and not all missing pieces could be found. However, we could collect those new things and pieces to form a better pattern. It may be different from the original pattern, but it could be better once we place all pieces perfectly into the board.

With that, a new journey would commence and we just have to trust the process and let everything fall into place. But when things seem to go south, we just have to channel our way back to the right direction and continue following the right path while collecting new pieces of our jigsaw puzzle life.

A perfect time will come that missing pieces will be found and all pieces will be put together. By that moment we could say that our effort is worth taking and everything makes perfect sense!

I will leave you with this beautiful quote from Sankalp Sankhala about jigsaw puzzles and life.

Phttps://www.yourquote.in/sankalp-singh-sank half-f4yf/quotes/lifelike-jigsaw-puzzle-every-event-every-person-like-piece-b0nfq

So don't be upset if you have found a broken or different piece for your jigsaw puzzle. Because there is a reason why that certain piece falls on your way. Instead of stressing yourself finding the missing piece that fits the hole, why not create a new one using the newly found pieces? Because sometimes, uncertainties happen in our life to form madness so we could disentangle ourselves from this complex life and world successfully to become a better version of ourselves.

Thank you for reading.

Time of writing: 10:20 am 10/21/21

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Comments

I'm pretty sure I have formed numerous new jigsaw patterns that have deviated from the original puzzle but such is life, there's nothing certain about it and at one point or the other we have to follow a new path or we will keep wasting time stuck on a missing puzzle piece

$ 0.02
3 years ago

O boi party jollof rice it been a while I had it last it really has the best taste and I love having it tho I prefer having it in a party than buying since I can't cook

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Very nice article! We all have our own puzzle and we all have our own ways how to solve it. I also encountered a lot if puzzles but I only myself solve it. It is our choice and not by the others

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3 years ago

Very inspirational Article. I played that puzzle in my childhood days. I realized that evey single puzzle that fits on it have a big impact in our lives.

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3 years ago

everyday I feel like I'm really missing something I'm trying to find but I can't find it. Isa lang ang tanging paraan para mahanap ko haha makapunta sa korea don makikita ko kung ano ang kulang sakin 🀣 mga OPPA

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I think that even if things don't seem to fit together at some point you will see that it all makes sense.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Yeah. In some point.. Unexpectedly make sense

$ 0.00
3 years ago

It's our choice , it's our life. Tayo din masusunod paano natin mabubuo Yung puzzle ng buhay natin. Hindi sila , kundi Tayo tlga β™₯️

$ 0.02
User's avatar Yen
3 years ago

Very good reflection, why not mold our own pieces, from the pieces we find along the way. Then we will have a new puzzle, maybe better than the one we had before.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Have you ever felt like there is still a missing piece in your life, or you seem lost in your way?

The missing pieces in me was the love of my own parents. I want to fulfill it with them, pero mukhang sila may ayaw πŸ˜…. Pero masaya ako everytime nakikia ko pic nila sa phone ko kahit minsan feel ko pinagpipilitan ko self ko dito heheheeh

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Seryoso? D mo feel?

$ 0.00
3 years ago

The puzzles of life and the words everything happens for a reason made me relate to the song God bless the broken road. Every trials and challenges, people that disappoint us and hurt us are all blessings in disguise. How we chose to respond to this everyday struggles is always a choice, will we do it alone or will we ask God to accompany us? Whatever is missing in our life’s puzzle, Trust in God’s process.

$ 0.03
3 years ago

Why not create a new one.

Now, that's more than one jigsaw puzzle to complete. But ain't life supposed to be like that? We will always be living in search of something missing and while.on the journey looking for it, we gain insightful ideas along the way. We don't notice it, but the things that will completeour own jigsaws will just fall without we expecting it. πŸ˜„πŸ‘Œ

$ 0.02
3 years ago

There are certain things that we want to find to fill in the gap. But not all things we want fall into place. But we sometimes find new ones which we can make a new pattern from them.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Truly, until that missing part is occupied, we keep on searching for it.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

I remember when I was a kid I used to play this jigzaw puzzle. It takes a lot patience and time playing this kind of game just like our life we need to be patient and wait for our perfect time in everything.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Indeed.. Patience is the key. If it can't be solved, then try again or make a new pattern

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3 years ago

tama make a new pattern if ever di mgwork.dati kasi I feel something missing in me siguro dahil kulang ako sa pagmamahal galing sa aking parents kaya lagi ko itong hinahanap sa ibang tao hanggang sa ngkaroon na ako ng sariling pamilya duon ko nalang ibunohos lahat ng aking attention kaysa hanapin pa ang anong ang missing.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Life is indeed a puzzle. You can only get your missing piece if you believe in yourself. And hey,life is always full of mistakes. We should not be discouraged by our mistakes

$ 0.02
3 years ago

It's better to create a new piece to fit in my pattern perfectly instead of trying to find the missing ones. If fate would have it,we would find it and if not, we move on. What will be will surely be.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

That's what life should be. Just move on.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I think that everyone, in one way or another, ends up with a different puzzle than the one we dream about when younger. In some cases, it may be similar but there are always pieces that change. And sometimes the challenge is to realize that the new piece that wasn't in our pattern is the one we need to continue putting the puzzle together.

$ 0.03
3 years ago

True.. The unexpected ones we thought are not part in the puzzle is actually the missing ones

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I also wonder what part is missing in my life that made it a puzzle i desperately want to solve...ugh nytie nyt madam

$ 0.02
3 years ago

There are several missing pieces in my life but are not people, They are things to do, and what I believe is that I can create those pieces to fit in my life!

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3 years ago

This has a big connection with life, I never thought of finding a new piece, and looking for the exact piece is taking forever.

Thanks for this, there are lots of amendments to be made.

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3 years ago

As for now, I just let things fall into place not minding if they are the missing pieces I am looking for

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3 years ago

This is a great lesson for everyone ate Jane. I honestly do not know what's missing in my life right now. All I know is that I am still in the middle of battling my chaotic life. I wish I can create my own jigsaw someday and hopefully, I can put all pieces together and establish a great piece πŸ’—

$ 0.03
3 years ago

You could. Just believe in yourself

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Good metaphor! I really love playing jigsaw puzzle. 😍

In addition, every step we make, we find the missing puzzle that can complete our life. Kasama na dyan yung mga taong naging part ng life natin. 😊

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Of course, kasama sla. Kht mga taong nagbigay sakit satn 😁

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Broken pieces might be hard your fix but once they come together they become meaningful. Taking a course or doing something we didn't even plan for, is actually part of the puzzle too. Whatever we go through is as a result if pieces that we have decided to bring together.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Oh! How beautiful to read that you are computer science like me. You had not told me! Life is a handkerchief, this world is too small. The things that connect us are more than those that distance us.

$ 0.03
3 years ago

Ahm that was more than 10 years ago 🀣

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Ahah. Me too. 😁

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3 years ago

There's a time for everything, and whether you try to force it, what will be will be when it will be. This doesn't mean when things are not going well, you should sit on your hand it simply means while you work for a better tomorrow, trust the process, trust that at the end of the day, everything will fall into place and be alright

$ 0.03
3 years ago

Yeah. That's how life goes

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Me: Still finding those missing pieces from me to fit in. Thank you ate Jane for teaching me that I must enjoy those mistakes I've through for making the piece whole. It is like enjoy the rain until its done. Also, know I know why are you so deep because of your life experience na hindi ko pa nararanasan.

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3 years ago

We all have different stories to tell and we always learn something from our experiences. Those experiences are some of the pieces that would fill in the gap.

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3 years ago

Immediately the piece is found may it not be too late that it spells out a different context... I really learnt a lot from you today, many of us are still searching for the right pattern, the right method, and the profound happiness..

It takes God's favour and alignment to find that missing piece.. and I hope and pray you do find it..

$ 0.03
3 years ago

I found something better πŸ™‚

$ 0.00
3 years ago

In my experience, finding missing pieces is not actually my target instead I just let things flow and just found out in the end that those holes were already filled in. 😊 It's actually the time would also helped us filled those missing pieces and along our journey we may able tp filled in all that holes.

$ 0.03
3 years ago

True.. We just need more patience πŸ˜…

$ 0.00
3 years ago

.. And it's hard to go through life with all those pieces intact. The joy of life is to keep looking for those pieces. Sometimes we lose them after finding them. We are all incomplete masterpieces and that's what makes us special.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Some are broken but we can fix them.. Some are lost but just somewhere that we can't see because we are busy looking at other things

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Missing piece of me? Yeah, sure. One who betrayed me, took my feelings away. Now I am feeling less. That's my missing piece.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

You can let go that piece if it's not worth keeping

$ 0.00
3 years ago

All things happen for a reason. All you have to do, let God be the captain of your path and everything will be in order. He will be the one to guide you in all aspects.

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Indeed

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Have a nice day ahead

$ 0.00
3 years ago

In addition to making the pieces, we still find pieces in others and from our experiences. Got it :D

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Coz they are part of the pieces of our life 😁 but still have something missing that we can't find from them.

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3 years ago

There's time for everything and there's a reason why things happen. Sometimes we just need to wait and everything will get fixed itself

$ 0.02
3 years ago

True... Sometimes we are just being impatient and messing up the pieces.. So other pieces go missing

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3 years ago

I think that's what life is all about? We live each day trying to find pieces of it and then when we finally think it is whole, that's when we realize that we have been looking at the wrong places when we can actually just create it?

$ 0.03
3 years ago

Exactly.. Because we are looking at what other people have instead of looking at our own.. The missing piece is just actually hidden deep within.

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3 years ago

How ironic noh hehe. But okay rin, we get to learn from those mistakes hehe

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3 years ago

This is absolutely right. Compared to some of my mates i feel as if there's something they have and i don't have. Just like the movie "looking for happiness ", i sometimes feel what i have now isn't enough to be happy, i need much more. But looking at it well, what i am now isn't so bad. I'm happy with who and what i am.

$ 0.03
3 years ago

You are still young and still have lots of room for improvements, lots of gaps to fill in. And I know, you could assemble your jigsaw puzzle life well..you're smart and positive.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

And even if we find something that seems like the missing piece, we should still look for the missing piece because that’s the original version of what you’ve got now

$ 0.02
3 years ago

i felt the same way.. back when I was younger.. maybe because we are still naive

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Kht ngayon naman na malaki na 🀣

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I believe everything has time and when the time comes we will definitely find the missing puzzle in our lives

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Of course, we just have to be patient and trust the process

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Yeah sis

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3 years ago

But the piece can be improvised sometimes... just to fill the gap

$ 0.02
3 years ago

Another great idea. And yes, there are many ways to do so it could fill the gap. We just have to learn how to make a non-valuable piece into a valuable one.

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3 years ago

Love it... listen to this... Is it possible to cut some corners from a piece to make it fit?

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3 years ago

It depends on what kind of piece is it. If it's something that I need to break or eradicate, I could cut the corners. But if it's something precious, I don't want to cut it, rather I'll make a new pattern for it.

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3 years ago

Hmmm... some pieces may shatter some may be more elastic

$ 0.00
3 years ago