“Life is like a box of chocolates.” – Forrest Gump 1994
If this is true — that “Life is like a box of chocolates” — I am most alive in the afternoon, when I am drawn towards any available chocolate in the house. Due to the current size of my waist, I am avoiding life! I am not Forrest Gump and this doesn’t fit for me personally.
For me, life is more like a jigsaw puzzle. On completion of a jigsaw, the picture is finally seen in full, it makes sense and everything fits perfectly together. Every individual piece plays its role in contributing something to the overall image.
At the start of the jigsaw, I just have a massive collection of individual pieces, bundled together in a box, many not even visible. Yet, if you have ever bought a new puzzle, you trust the manufacturer to supply every single perfect piece. At the start of the puzzle, I have seen the intended image and am committed to assembling it. However, it takes time to get in tune with the style of the picture and the shapes and fit of the individual parts. During its assembly there are times of great frustration and self-doubt. Knowing that the picture is going to be perfect, helps me trust the process and just take the next step.
Interestingly, everyone I have ever done a jigsaw puzzle with, takes a slightly different approach to the process of assembly. Keeping moving, and experimenting with what works and what doesn’t, helps a puzzle grow. My dad had to lay out every piece the right way up before starting. He would sort all the edge pieces and corners before assembling the border. I sort the edges first and keep the rest in a large wooden salad bowl and pick out similar colours to work on, eventually turning all the small images upright, when there is space to do so. We each assemble our unique images at different rates, using different strategies. and all complete the picture.
For me, life is more like a jigsaw puzzle than a box of chocolates.
Love and Light to you,
Caroline Khambatta
