Life is like a jigsaw puzzle

One Sunday afternoon, my family and I got stuck in the house with nothing much to do than watch television.

Sticking our eyes on the screen was not really exciting considering we had planned to be outdoors.

But the heavy rain saw us get stuck inside with nothing much to do.

The boys brought out a jigsaw puzzle, a board game that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge, and for a couple of hours our minds and fingers were occupied as we tried to figure out which piece went where.

The colourful and fun-looking game that looked like child's play took an entire afternoon to complete. There were tense and hilarious moments as we tried to figure out what went where and why.

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But is that not the nature of life?

Like the puzzle, it can never be complete if one piece, no matter how small, is missing. When one is missing, the players will go to great lengths to trace it lest their ingenuity is questioned.

The missing puzzles are those things you wish you knew or had.

Those mysteries that accompany life's happenings that keep you scratching your head. That uncertain future that lies awaiting you to live it, because it is your offer from the universe.

Sometimes, we are able to realise what we have been dreaming about, filling yet another crossword puzzle, eliciting a hooray.

Jigsaw puzzles remind me of the intricacies of human nature. We need each other to feel complete when times are good, when we are having fun. This must be the reason why we want to celebrate that promotion or birthday or a wedding or graduation with friends and family

We need each other more when times are bad — such as when we have lost a father, a mother or a child.

Then we need the community around us to come together and help us in our moment of weak moments. We need the same support when a job is lost or a business goes bad or we are just overwhelmed by the curve balls that life throws our way.

You can easily complete some jigsaw puzzles all by yourself while some need more than one head to figure out the intricacies.

Yet some jigsaw puzzles are deceiving. Just when you think you have it fixed at the right place, you are taken aback because the piece does not fit.

If this happens in life, then you start all over again, until you get it right. It is always a happy moment when you get to figure out which spot a certain piece should be at.

And it is always a nirvana moment when you finally get to fill the entire puzzle. Of course, depending on the nature of the puzzle, some will take longer to finish than others. That you get to complete the puzzles that make up your life path is even more important.

Indeed, it is a lifetime of puzzles. Have fun as you fill your puzzle. It should be fulfilling.