Puzzle Pieces

The longer I live, the more I realize that everything in life, no matter how insignificant it may seen, has a reason and a purpose. Everything we see, do, hear and learn eventually plays a part in our journey. In time, we learn that disappointments are but inevitable blessings and that no matter how difficult the situation may seem, or how much worrying we invest, we will make it through. If we were all born with these Simple Truths inherent, then life’s lessons would have no reason or purpose as we’d have nothing to learn from them and nowhere to grow. Life is a teacher…and a classroom…and we are its students.

Every person we meet, whether they become lifelong friends, or summer acquaintances, leaves us with something of value. I believe that every crossed path has not crossed by happenstance and that every emotion we experience, from grief to elation, from hatred to love, only helps us grow during and after the time we’ve experienced them.

Unfortunately, it is not until we grow older that we recognize and learn to appreciate life’s lessons. I wrote this last Simple Truth to summarize that thought:

A Simple Truth about…

AWARENESS

I feel as though I’m a victim of crime;
as if time has committed a theft
for I didn’t truly begin to appreciate life
until I had less of it left!

I compare life to an infinite-piece jigsaw puzzle. We start with a clear table, upon which we add countless colors, designs and shapes. It is up to us to accept and examine them one by one and figure out just where they fit. Every person we meet, every lesson we learn, gives us yet another piece to help us solve our puzzle. The more pieces we acquire, the more the whole picture becomes clearer.

And as our “puzzle” grows, so do we. We change as we learn these Simple Truths and simultaneously, subconsciously and consistently gather more pieces. We evolve and adapt. The way in which we react to certain situations is a direct result of how we’ve reacted to similar situations we’ve experienced. The decisions we make today are because of those decisions — both good and bad — that we’ve made previously. The way in which we treat the people in our lives today is a reflection of how we’ve treated, and how we’ve been treated by, others in our past. We learn to worry less and appreciate more. We learn that it brings us joy if we stop and listen to the sound of a child’s laughter. We learn how to say, “I’m sorry” without hesitation. And most importantly, we learn that life is not forever. In other words, our past alters our future. The Simple Truths of yesterday pave the way and open our minds to readily accept, and learn from, those we’ll encounter tomorrow.

In closing, I hope you’ll enjoy reading some of the “puzzle pieces” in my new book. Maybe you’ll find that they will add an important piece or connect the pieces of your own puzzle.

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