The following story came to me from a personified puzzle piece character in a dream that I had recently. I present the story roughly as it was told by my blue phantom, the cardboard narrator from the puzzling dream:
“There once was an enormous jigsaw puzzle, so intricately beautiful that it remained eternally unsolvable, to this day. I was but a mere bewildering piece to the great puzzle. I confused myself the most, unaware of my place and sometimes even doubting if I belonged at the table. An oddly shaped single shade of blue. There were countless others, just like me, scattered across the surface of the table. More shapes fronting bizarre compilations of color: hues of blue, green, white, and a tan light-brown.
Additionally, a great, indistinguishable, dark, mass of pieces had joined together to create the border of the puzzle; together they resembled the great emptiness of outer space. It must have been very easy for those pieces to find their place. It seemed to me that this outer edge of the puzzle had been formed for as long as I could remember myself being among the others on the table… lost.
I did have one solid companion through some of the madness—a friend. I couldn't have foreseen that time with this friend would surely have to end for either of us to make sense of our world; in any case, we just didn’t connect in any way. The one exception, our mutual blooming curiosity about the bigger picture and our place in it, enlightened us to our desire. A deep dire need to connect with something that would give definition to existence.
I was inspired, and found an agreeable note of clarity within the search for a grander meaning. My friend, in the spiritual sense, became crushed—immobilized by the heavy weight of wonder. The weight kept growing, compressing an open mind into a thin paste. I can’t say for sure what happened, but the last time we spoke, my friend was weightless.
It was not so clear to any of us… whether we belonged. Even the star-freckled border pieces could only assume that the rest of us would all fall harmoniously in line, validating their position. Well, as they must have hoped, we saw the puzzle proceed to come together before us. Slowly. Sporadically. First, couples would find themselves conjoined. Then trios, quads, and so on.
Individuals were connecting, discovering coherent meanings for their incarnations, and in the process, becoming clear fragments of the world they actively created. Many lost pieces wondered about their place in this world; yet, some had no such wonder—and maybe had never. I envied those, I know my old friend certainly would have.
Yes, just like my long-lost acquaintance, I was one of those unfortunate ones who possessed all of the curiosity and none of the clarity. Not connecting to anything; disconcerting to everyone, including myself. In this way, I was alone on that table. In isolation, one can ponder their purpose endlessly, furthering the sense of isolation. I came to a distinct belief: there had been others who wondered… Some even found their answer, and they did not find it in solitude. I clung to that belief for dear life, desperately optimistic. I was sure there was a place for me; not alone—that could not be it. Though, it had felt that way, long enough that my doubts had roots. After all, I felt most peaceful on my own. I wondered, now, in order to feel any sense of connection, should I just continue to isolate? My optimistic belief conflicted with my crude vision; yet, still I thought: there’s a purpose to be found.
It was then a great contradiction to me when—by myself—while admiring the world for what I could understand it to be, I noticed a fellow blue misfit lying alone on the grand table. The shape of this one was notably awkward; the attitude was sardonic. This piece explained to me that finding a purpose simply did not matter; there was no real meaning, and added that there is enough fulfillment to be found watching others try to make sense of themselves. I disagreed, then, thinking: if that was true, then why was this piece lying in the middle of it all, loitering, in the role of the most critical cynic?
Anyhow, it was at that moment, when I made the discovery that would contradict us both on the spot. I lay down next to this piece, and lo and behold, we connected instantly. It may have been that we were both just odd and insignificant enough that neither of us could identify either quality in the other. However convenient, we were a match that inherently and simultaneously debunked my new partner's why try attitude and debunked my belief that I wouldn't find answers on my own. Well, that is, if I could take credit for having found my new friend on my own.
The two of us had joined; transformed into one, doubled, gave meaning to the world. If only at the possibility of discovering more—or possibly the surreal feeling of a real connection—we were newly fulfilled and looking ahead with amusement.
The validation gave hope, and the hope would bring the courage to go out into the open sea of blue in search of more validation. It was not just the validation I sought but the assuring nature of the validation received from compatibility. The clarity—the explanation that one can receive from a single true connection can open the door to more connections that will naturally feel even truer and deeper to them. I only found this revelation through a series of the most refined personal experiences. Instances that encompassed a pure realization of potential. One’s discovery leads others’ and, sure enough, others would come. Some would find a place to fit in. Some, having discovered no purpose for themselves, would move on and continue their search elsewhere or else. None could deny the communal definition that lived on just the very same connections that constructed the world before them. The puzzzZZ—" BUZZ… BUZZ… BUZZ…
My morning alarm had sounded off at this point; and that was all the story that I heard from what I could piece together (do forgive my pun). Nonetheless, the story really connect-(oh my) resonated with me. I awoke that day with a new vision of my own life.
And yet, still, surely, to this day, my dear reader, the puzzle remains incomplete.