There are times when I feel like my life is a jumble of fragmented pieces.  Reflecting back on those 1,000 piece puzzles I used to “play” with and the frustration of not knowing even where to begin gave me some huge insights to life in general.

The edges of my puzzle are already in place.  I am female, a mother, a grandmother, a homeowner, a “mommy” to two miniature Schnauzers, a guardian to a wide variety of wildlife, a spiritual teacher, a life coach, etc.  Not only are the edges of my puzzle in place, all of your puzzle edges are already in place too.  Usually these edges aren’t the issue because they are things that are not easily changed.

The real issue is all of the other puzzle pieces that are dumped in a pile.  We put these pieces together to get a particular “picture” only to find that for some reason we just don’t like it or it just doesn’t work the way we expected it to.  It isn’t what we thought it would and it doesn’t give us the peace and happiness expected.  We step back looking at the picture wondering where and how we got the pieces all mixed up.  Stepping back into the puzzle of our lives, we furiously begin changing things around, moving the pieces to other locations, throwing out some pieces while gathering others.  Our entire lives actually revolve around constructing, de-constructing, and re-constructing the puzzle pieces of our lives.

Sometimes we get ideas from others on where we’ve messed things up.  Those are the “oughts” and “shoulds” we encounter from various people.   Sometimes these suggestions are worthwhile and helpful but more often than not, they only bring us greater frustration and grief.  There are times when we even try to make our puzzle pieces look like other people’s puzzle pieces hoping for greater happiness.  We have nose jobs, tummy tucks, face lifts, we copy how someone laughs, walks and talks.  All of these antics actually do nothing to help us construct our lives in a way that brings joy, peace and love. 

The solution: 

• See life as a game
• Resolve to have FUN constructing, de-constructing and re-constructing your puzzle
• Embrace ALL of your puzzle pieces
• Become comfortable with the fact that the picture of our lives is ALWAYS changing
• Release the frustration and embrace the challenge life offers us
• Know that you can always make changes and create an entirely new picture at any moment
• Know, in truth, that Love is unfolding
• Realize that nothing is truly appreciated unless it is something you put effort into
• Create your picture with intention each and every moment
• Let that intention be guided by Love, Peace, Joy and Harmony.