Everything I need to know about life I learned from a jigsaw puzzle...

It's been a while since I've put out a jigsaw puzzle to work on during these cold winter days. The puzzle table is a good place for relaxation, conversation and sometimes just quiet companionship. But I also realize that if you can complete a puzzle you also know a lot about life.

1. Emptying the puzzle pieces on the table is like the start of life. You begin with all your pieces jumbled, pattern-less, impossible to put together. You have to sort yourself out, turn all the pieces right side up and see what you've got.
2. Next you need a good framework. Put all those straight-edged pieces together. Build a good foundation. Thank those people who helped you build one.
   
3. Now you're ready to take those pieces and find their proper places in the frame. Like adding people, experiences and adventures to your life. If the pieces belong in your puzzle they will fit in there somewhere when their space is ready. If they don't fit they belong in someone else's puzzle.
   
4. Sometimes you just get stuck -- the piece you need can't be found. Then it's time to walk away for a while. Take a break. Come back to that place later and look at it differently. Almost always you can find the missing piece. And if not, just like in life, you can always ask for help.
   
5. You are never going to know what that puzzle really looks like until the last piece snaps in. Until that moment there's always some mystery and anticipation. It's really the process of getting there that's all the fun.
   

So do a good job -- there's no satisfaction like running your hand over that completed puzzle surface. It's like glancing back over a life well lived.