I’ve been working on a puzzle that feels like a metaphor for my life. Visually, I see the end result, but getting to the finished puzzle has been a practice in patience and steadfastness. Each sitting, I find 3-4 pieces – that’s it! I have to go away from it to come back and see it in a new, different way to be able to find those next 3-4 pieces. Some days I get lucky and get on a roll, but even then, after a run of success, I hit a wall. I’m learning to accept this reality and to work with my impatience and desire to get it done. I’m trying to enjoy the “hunt,” the occasional success, and to keep coming back, even though it feels like I’ll never finish it.
Metaphors help us connect something that is less understood with something that symbolizes what we are trying to understand. Life is certainly something we don’t always understand, and its twists and turns, joys and sorrows, and wins and defeats, challenge us to be patient, to weather the storms with courage and faith, to accept what “is” and lean into what isn’t, and to enjoy the journey along the way.
The process of putting a puzzle together starts with creating the frame with the end pieces. Sometimes that is a breeze, and other times it is fraught with frustration. Yet once the frame is completed the real journey begins. The inner pieces are randomly shaped, making no sense piece by piece. The picture is revealed as you put in one piece at a time, and while the goal is to finish it, the delight of finding that next piece offers small “wins” along the way.
As you enter into 2022, consider this question, “What is a metaphor for your life?”
Fill in the blank: “My life is like a ________” and then ask yourself,
“What are my hopes and dreams for my life in 2022?”
“How will I turn my hopes and dreams into a reality in 2022?”
Have some fun with this exercise, and share your metaphor for life with us on our Facebook page.
