Solving Puzzles

Although it’d been years since trying to put one together,  I was thrilled with my purchase of a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle of Monet’s  The Cliff, Etretat, Sunset  that I found it at the CMA on sale. With fond memories of spending rainy days doing puzzles as a child,  I thought that this one would keep me occupied during the cold winter days when I chose to remain warm and cozy inside.

After I spread the pieces on my dining room table I suddenly felt a sense of overwhelm.  How does one begin such a monumental task?  The pieces all looked the same and in this poor reproduction they were mostly all a murky blue or blue green.  Then I remembered the trick to doing puzzles: sort the flat sided pieces and then organize the rest into groups of like colors. Using the box cover as a guide I began to assemble them.  I was able to put together the pieces that showed Claude Monet’s signature and the pieces with the glowing orange sun peering through the mist didn’t take too long. After  the first week I had the left border together and part of the top border.  But that was it.  Everything else was too difficult.  The pieces within the sky area and the sea area were almost impossible.  There were no landmarks, nothing unusual, and the pieces were nearly indistinguishable in many cases.

For three months the cleaning lady dusted around the pieces.  Every time I had a few minutes  in between calls or appointments I would give it a try. I kept telling myself that I could do this, that I loved the challenge.  Toward the end of March I began to admit my discouragement  but I didn’t want to give up.  I am not a quitter, I kept telling myself.

Then in April a friend came for a week’s visit.  I thought that she would  enjoy the challenge. But, when I showed her the far from complete puzzle and the box covers she said, “No way.  That one is just not worth it.  It doesn’t look like fun at all.”  With great relief, I pushed the pieces into the box, dusted off the table, and thanked her.

How many times do we hang on to goals, ideas, or relationships that have long stopped being worthy of our time, our thought, or our emotions?  How many times do we realize that it just isn’t fun anymore and that it’s time to move on but are afraid to take action?

Sometimes it is difficult for us to see what is holding us from moving forward because we are so close to the situation.  I needed my friend to tell me that the puzzle wasn’t worth it.  I needed validation and a reminder that it’s OK to change my mind, to see the puzzle differently.  All puzzles aren’t meant to be solved.  Some just need to be discarded.

Are you hanging onto something that is not serving you?  Is there a relationship or a goal that you are “working on” that isn’t really going the way you want it to?  Is it time to let that go? If you need help in finding clarity in a situation I may be able to help you. Contact me for a free thirty minute clearing session.