The Puzzle
(The Meaning of Life)Once upon a time...
a young man named André looked around at the world and wondered what it all was for.
He set out to discover the meaning of Life. He sat in deep meditation and asked Life for the answer to his question.
At the end of this meditation, André noticed a glowing holographic picture, larger than a house. After a few seconds, it shrunk, to become a jigsaw puzzle piece on the ground in front of him. The piece was alive. It vibrated with wonderful radiant color. It made him feel calm and alive. Renewed and refreshed, he continued with his life and his quest.
André carried the piece in his breast pocket always. When he felt discouraged, he removed the piece, caressed it and held it up to different lights. Every now and then he saw the piece in a new way. The piece spoke to him and guided him.
As he learned his lessons in Life, the piece changed. It grew and changed shape but always reflected his progress and growth.
One day, in a very troubling period, André took out his piece, looking for comfort and guidance. The piece was as lovely as it ever had been, but André's need had grown--the piece seemed inadequate. He spent days rubbing it, looking at it in different ways. No answer came this time.
Distraught, André put the piece back into his pocket and went for a long walk in the pine woods. He walked for miles. Exhausted, he sat down to rest under a large old white pine. The pine dropped one of its magnificent cones next to where he sat. He picked it up and held it in his hand. It felt warm. It comforted him. He held the cone in his hand throughout his meditation.
When he got up to leave for home, as he slipped his new treasure into his pocket, he noticed that it had changed. It was now a puzzle piece, as wonderful as the one he had carried now for years. He could tell from its colors that it was a part of the same puzzle as the other piece.
Over the years, the combined effect of the two pieces gave him even more strength. Whenever he held the two pieces in his hand, Life became more clear than before. The two pieces together were far more powerful than either one on its own.
He tried to fit them together, without success. With the combined energy of the two pieces, he realized that he could go out and get new pieces. He took more walks in the woods. He spent more time with animals and friends. He made a garden. He painted. He read and wrote. He carved wood.
The more he did, the more he discovered puzzle pieces everywhere. Sometimes wood shavings, soil, a leaf, paint, or a poem would transform itself into a living puzzle piece. He made a wooden box to hold the pieces. He carved flowers into the lid of the box and painted them with colors he liked. With a tiny brush, he applied a gold leaf border to the lid.
Every now and then, he sat down with the pieces and tried to assemble them. Eventually, he could see that the completed picture was a magnificent landscape.
He also noticed that some of the pieces, although just as wonderful and powerful as the others, did not seem to fit anywhere in the picture .
Thirty years had gone by since André had received the first puzzle piece. He sat down to oil the wooden box and to add some new decorations to its sides. As he lifted the lid, the puzzle pieces glowed even more brightly than ever before. He assembled them as he had done many times before, placing the odd pieces off to the side.
The living puzzle spoke to him as it had many times before. This time it said...
"André, you have done well. It is time for you to know one of the secrets of the puzzle. Because you have made a beautiful container for the pieces, you will now receive a gift from the creator of the puzzle. Look into the wooden box you have made."
Looking into the bottom of the box, he saw a name carved in the wood. The name was René.
"From this day forward, your name shall be called René, for you are to be reborn into a new life. Now, turn the box over."
Obeying the puzzle's request, he beheld a wondrous thing! The picture of the completed puzzle appeared on the underside of the box he had crafted. In the picture, he saw many subtle details. As with the individual pieces, the picture was alive. He stepped into the living picture. He became very small as he stepped into the picture. He was able to look around objects and trees he found there. Walking around, he noticed that everything in the puzzle was alive! He then understood why the individual pieces were so vibrant.
He sat down to meditate by a lake in the living picture.
The first question that came to him was what to do with the pieces that didn't fit his puzzle. The reeds on the bank began to quiver as he thought this. They sang a song to him. The song told him to find the person whose puzzle was missing these exact pieces.
"This person will gladly accept these pieces in exchange for the rest of the pieces you need to complete your own puzzle, for you have collected as many as you can on your own. The meaning of Life you seek is this...
"No man walks alone, René. You have walked alone these many decades. You have done well. We are pleased with your work. With our help, you have created this woodland which you now enjoy. You can do little more on your own. It is time for you to learn to share this joy with a help-meet. Together, you will do great things.
"This is a tale of integration. You are nearing the completion of your personal integration--uniting the diverse aspects of and within yourself. You will now learn to integrate with the integrating whole of another. You are becoming a Risen Sun. The reverberation and expansion of this integration process will continue, as it has been doing for longer than time can express, until all the individual assembled puzzles unite into the vast assembled puzzle of the Oneness of All--a brilliant and magnificent work.
"Then a new song can begin.
"Every searcher needs a mate. Your mate must also be searching and moving towards the Light. A person who does not question themselves--search for the meaning of Life--cannot understand the joys and trials in the life of a sincere seeker of Truth.
"You will complete both puzzles together. You will see how both pictures go together to form a much larger picture. You will step into the larger picture together. The power and strength that this union will generate will astound both of you, as well as everyone you know and meet. When you have drunk in this new energy for a time and been renewed, you will venture out to heal your brothers's wounds.
"You will find this person when the time is right. You will recognize each other. The power of your meeting will cause the song of the wind and the web to rise in crescendo. You will see a great light in the darkness. You will know.
"The trickster Coyote will put three obstacles in your path. Step into our midst and we will whisper to you what they will be."
As René rose, he noticed a glint, like the sun reflecting off the blade of a great knife. Turning, he saw that it was in fact reflecting off the eye-teeth of Coyote who was lurking close by, studying him.
He stepped into the reeds. His clothing fell to the ground. The lake swelled and cleansed him in warm living water. The reeds whispered the secrets into his ear. He emerged from the lake clean and dry. Magnificent new clothing was laid out for him on the grass beside the bank.
"We can say no more for now."
As he dressed, René noticed the presence of another being within his picture. He called out to the shadowy figure darting amongst the trees, catching only a brief glimpse. The call that came in response was a harmonic of his own. The two sounds combined to make a chorus that was joined by the birds. This great chorus caused the flowers to bloom and the trees to sway. The animals gathered round to listen.
Sitting looking at his puzzle box, which he held in his lap, René began to plan for this new paradigm.
Puzzle pieces: Images courtesy of - MGC's custom wooden jigsaw puzzles
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Notebook
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