Puzzles, Grammar and Life

It seems that we have developed a tradition of putting together a puzzle during the Christmas/New Year Holiday.  We've missed a few years, but most years we have managed it.  Any guesses as to what the picture might be this year?  I will try and remember to post an image once completed.

I grew up with puzzles and have always enjoyed them.  I might even have a few that my grandchildren now enjoy when they come to visit.  They teach things like patience and observation.

People attempt to assemble puzzles by various approaches.  My preference is to 1) assemble the border and then 2) focus on specific, recognizable features on the interior.  I like to place those features in the approximate correct location within the borders as they come together.  I then connect them as pieces are added.  Frequently you will see me with a piece in hand, 3) scanning the picture on the box for a match of color and distinguishing marks which then lead me to place the piece near where it belongs in the assembling puzzle upon the table.  Some people start with step two and others with step three.

There are lots of things for which puzzles can be a metaphor (I think that's the correct term).  Life is like a puzzle -- or, a bowl full of cherries in some movies.  We spend our developmental years figuring out all the pieces and beginning the assembly process.  The last piece falls into place as we take our last breath.  Our careers are also like a puzzle in some ways.  The big differences between life, careers and puzzles is that we don't know what the picture will look like when completed until they are almost over.  Even then there can be twists and turns that change the final view in dramatic ways.

I like the idea of a puzzle with a constantly evolving outcome.  Once a couple of pieces fit into place, the picture changes and finding the next piece is a completely new challenge.  I think that is often how life unfolds.  We usually can't see beyond the next piece.  We also sometimes struggle to see where the current piece fits in our overall plan.  It doesn't mesh with the mental image we have developed of the future.

I think that in life and careers, just like in puzzles, we need to learn to focus on the present.  We need to be mindful of the possible futures and prepare for them -- especially those we would like to develop -- but, we should focus on the piece in hand.  When we place it correctly within the overall framework, it makes the next piece fall into place more easily.  If it is handled poorly -- placed incorrectly -- the pieces connecting to it are more difficult to assemble.

Upon further reflection, my example of a puzzle is a simile rather than a metaphor -- at least in the way I used it.  If, instead, I had said that life is a puzzle, it would have been a metaphor.  Simile = "like", metaphor = "is" is the rule.  I've always struggled with that one.  Maybe I've puzzled over the differences.  I don't know.  This correct grammar stuff is frustrating -- just like the piece that doesn't seem to fit anywhere....