Peace By Piece

It's so fun putting together jigsaw puzzles.  Sitting down with a Grandparent or other loved one, manipulating all of those pieces.  It brings a certain peace doesn't it?  A calming and soothing feeling that seems unexpected during such a tedious task.  After hours upon hours you come to the final piece of a 1400 piece puzzle, only to find, that the peace is missing.

You search for what seems like a lifetime.  The beautiful display of the Solar System is missing one very important star.  The puzzle sits on the card table, people stare at its beauty as if it were complete.  The puzzle is together in their eyes because all they see is the peace that surrounds you.  They fail to notice the missing piece.

Sometimes things aren't as simple as we'd like them to be.  Sometimes people don't understand how or why happiness can be found in broken puzzles.  Sometimes people ask questions, "What's the story with you?"  "There's more here than meets the eye!"  Maybe those people are smarter than we think.  Maybe they see things that should be obvious to everyone else. 

Ultimately, personal peace can only be found when the final piece to the puzzle is found.  Some of us have found that peace while others search high and low for that piece.  I think it has to do with where you look.  You could empty out the vacuum, walk the aisles of the grocery store, or just patiently wait until it jumps in and fills that void.

I also believe that the missing piece can be tucked away under the puzzle box.  Right there in front of your face.  Like a subtle smile hidden by tears or a quiet I love you from across a parking lot.  I think that peace in the puzzle of life, can only be accomplished once we're brave enough to drop in the missing piece. 

Like a puzzle with a missing piece, many lives miss that peace as well.  If you know where to find that peace, be brave enough to fill the void.  If you're still searching for that piece, I hope that you come across it in the most peaceful way.  We can all go about our lives wondering and wandering.  We can all search aimlessly for that missing peace.  Or we can be brave, smile, breath easy, and love.  We can find peace.  We can lay down the final piece that we already know is there. -Blink

Complex Simplicity

I was walking through a field one day and out of nowhere a rose bush appeared.  It had draped itself up the side of an old walnut stump, climbing so gracefully toward the sky.  I asked myself how in the world did this thing get here.  The field itself was beautiful, yet the rose bush was the epicenter of it's beauty.  It was a rather cloudy day and a soft drizzle began to fall from the sky.  I don't mind the rain, I actually prefer it, and I watched as drops gently rested on the petals of the queen flower.  I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, smiled. 

After what seemed like twenty minutes, I opened my eyes to the sound of youthful giggles.  Fifteen yards away, where the rose bush should have been, Nicole, Kameron, Trinity, and Mirryn danced and laughed in what was now a steady downpour.  I quickly ran over to join them, my roses...my life.

I am guilty for allowing life to be so demanding and complex at times.  We all take it so serious, when in fact, it's over in the blink of an eye.  With how complex, demanding, and difficult life can be, it's the simplicity in it that makes it worth living.  The only people that I want to have a positive influence on after I'm gone, are the same one's that I want to have a positive influence on while I'm here.  Although life from it's biological core is very complex, the way it's lived should be very simple.  Dance in the rain.-Blink