Puzzle Pieces

In an effort to switch things up one night last week, the Hubs and I decided to put a puzzle together, as our normal nightly routine consists of eating dinner, doing schoolwork, and then watching either an episode of the Office or a movie. Well, the puzzle was a fantastic choice to change things up. It was a 750 piece scene of a dockside marina in Amsterdam. A total of seven colorful buildings decorates the picture, in addition to a cafe or two, restaurants, and dozens of people. Needless to say, it took us a while to finish it, and the end product is one that is now beautifully displayed in our home.

While we were picking out the corners and end pieces, it was pretty overwhelming. I mean, that's 750 pieces to go through! The entire top of this puzzle is a blue sky, so that is a lot of thinking we had the right piece, only to find out it wasn't. Hours upon hours of working on that blue sky turned into days. Literally. But, eventually, it was starting to come together! As we took frequent breaks, I would walk by the table and just stand and look at the unfinished picture.

It was beautiful, even unfinished. A work in progress.

I slowly started to piece ideas together, as we were piecing the puzzle together. This puzzle is no different than life. Truly. While we are all unfinished works in progress, we still are beautiful. Its not the finished puzzle that makes it beautiful, it was the work that went into it!

I mean, think about it. When you have put a puzzle together, what happens when you are all done? It either sits there as decoration, is framed and put on a wall (as decoration), or it gets taken apart and put back in the box, just to be stored away and never looked at again.

Every day of our life is a process of finding the right puzzle piece that fits, and placing it where it goes. Sometimes we find a piece that seems to be the perfect fit, just to find out that its not. We then have to remove it and try again. Sometimes we find an individual piece that is beautiful on its own, yet we cannot find where it goes. And sometimes, we are able to build an entire section of our life in no time at all, only to just let it sit there and try to figure out how it fits in the big picture.

No one is a finished puzzle. We are all works in progress, and honestly, who wants to be a finished product, only to sit as decoration or thrown back into a box - never to be touched again?

Find a piece today, and figure out where it goes. Or, put a small inner scene together and take an effort each day to see how it fits into the big picture.

Just remember: All the pieces you need are within your reach, its your job to put them together.

Good luck, and HAVE FUN!!!

"Artistic Tuesday"

One of the things I love about my husband is that when he says he is going to do something, he does it. That may seem to be a trivial, minute observation or cause to love someone, but in this day and age that is something to be proud of. So many people say they are going to do something and then it never gets done.

John has deemed Tuesday to be "Artistic Tuesday". His goal is to express himself in a creative way on Tuesdays. Not that the other six days of the week are to be artistically neglected, but Tuesday is his day off and as far as goals go, consciously making an effort to let your creative juices take control is what he has set out to do. Today is Tuesday. He went on a photographic adventure in the park and then came home to refurbish an old cabinet that is now loudly and proudly displayed in my kitchen.



Tuesday is also piano lesson day. I teach an eight year old every Tuesday evening, and every Tuesday evening I am amazed at the progress she has made since her last lesson. As a somewhat vocal piano teacher I have come into contact with all sorts of people who express a sentiment of "I wish I knew how to play the piano". My response is very simply, "you can".

If there is something you wish to do, do it.

Honestly, it is as simple as that.

If you are sitting at your computer, I am assuming that your fingers work. If you are reading this, I am assuming that you know your alphabet. By drawing a simple logical conclusion based off the previous two assumptions then I am also assuming you can count. Those basic necessities are all you need to learn how to play piano.

What do you wish to do? Take a moment and think of what is holding you back. Is it fear of the unknown or of failure? Is it time? There are hundreds- no, thousands- of excuses for every wish that you wish to come true. It will not happen on its own. Make your mind up to do something and do it.

I wish you passion, drive, focus and commitment to your next adventure!