There must have been a time when you entered a room and met someone and after a while you understood that unknown to either of you there was a reason you had met. You had changed the other and he had changed you. By some word or deed or just by your presence the errand had been completed. Then perhaps you were a little bewildered or humbled and grateful. And it was over.
Each lifetime is the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
For some there are more pieces.
For others the puzzle is more difficult to assemble.
Some seem to be born with a nearly completed puzzle.
And so it goes.
Souls going this way and that.
Trying to assemble the myriad parts.
But know this. No one has within themselves
All the pieces to their puzzle.
Like before the days when they used to seal
jigsaw puzzles in cellophane. Insuring that
All the pieces were there.
Everyone carries with them at least one and probably
Many pieces to someone else's puzzle.
Sometimes they know it.
Sometimes they don't.
And when you present your piece
Which is worthless to you,
To another, whether you know it or not,
Whether they know it or not,
You are a messenger from the Most High
Well it seems that “The Rubik’s Cube” is becoming popular again. I was talking with one my oldest friend’s Nick last Saturday night, at a mutual friends birthday celebration. It is always wonderful to spend time with old friends, those who have known you through thick and thin. He began by telling me how much his daughter is looking forward to seeing me again. I know it is not to see me, but to meet Molly. He then began telling me about his son. I think his son is a bit of a genius. I remember when he came over to Manchester last year he had a Rubik’s cube, which he could complete in a no time at all. Well he is utterly obsessed it seems. So much so that he is competing in the World Championship, which take place at the end of this month, in Spalding in Lincolnshire. Nick says he is incredibly confident, I understand why. He can even complete a cube blind. The technique being that the competitor gets to look at a muddled up cube, they are then blindfolded and they have to put it back in order while blindfolded. Well Nick’s son Alex can do so in no time at all. It blows my mind. I get the confidence.
People constantly amaze me. Yes, we are all made of the same stuff, but we can be so different in the ways we see and engage with life. I know I wouldn’t even know where to begin if given a Rubik’s cube. My mind just does not work in this way. I would imagine if my brother’s children got into such things, they would soon be geniuses at it. I am very different. My mind does not work through images, I am more intuitive and my memory is linked to language. I used to find this a bit of puzzle. I do less so these days. It is just part of the beautiful tapestry of life. It helps me to understand how differently people can experience life. Some folk love quizzes and games etc. Board games are very popular once again. I have never been that interested personally. I am much more interested in the puzzle of what makes each of us human and making sense of the mystery that is life and that which I find at the core of life. That spirit in life, that I call God.
It is hard at times to come to terms with life, particularly the horror and suffering. There is the natural horror, which we have no doubt witnessed this week in Turkey and Northern Syria, thousands of lives lost due to the earth quake. We also see corruption and all kinds of other human made horrors, war etc. At the same time we also see the incredible things we do for one another in times of strife. The human response to disaster can be incredible. When someone suffers, most people are only too willing to offer a helping hand. There are many other troubles too, that are so hard to make sense of. Life is not a game, a puzzle to be solved. Reality is not a mathematical equation, or a Rubiks cube that can be simply put back in order. It is not a jigsaw puzzle where all we have to do is put the pieces back together, to create the perfect picture. I supect even if we had all the pieces and the picture, it still would not fit together perfectly and neatly. Life is not some game of perfection and or perfectionism. Nothing in life is complete, there is no such thing as perfection.
Now this might shock some of you, but it seems I am not mad after all. Here’s the proof. I cannot draw a perfect circle.
Now I know that this test may not hold up in court, but I think it’s revealing. Now I don’t think it is one’s ability to draw perfect circle that is actually the true test of madness, the true test is to actually try. I think the true test of madness is to keep on trying to draw the perfect circle, or to even think that such a thing is possible.
The circle is never perfect, in fact I’m pretty sure that the circle will remain forever incomplete. I think it’s better that way.
One of the great plagues of humanity is perfection, is seeking perfection both within ourselves and others. How many times I wonder have I rejected either myself, others, or life itself because it did not offer perfection? How many times have I noticed others doing the same? It is a lot easier to see in others by the way than in myself.
Nothing in life is perfect, it is always imperfect. I am pretty much convinced that this is how it ought to be.
Now imperfection is one of those interesting words that doesn’t mean exactly what it always meant. When today we say that something is imperfect we are usually making a judgement about something suggesting that there is something wrong with it. In so doing we are making an error. Imperfection comes from the Latin “imperfectus” which actually meant incomplete.
So when we say that we are imperfect, that others are imperfect, that life itself is imperfect we are correct, in the sense that nothing is ever complete. Life is not a jigsaw or a Rubik’s Cube.
The mistake we have made is that in saying that someone or something is imperfect we have suggested that they or it is somehow wrong, when in fact we couldn’t be more wrong. Imperfection itself is what makes life what it is, it is the fuel and energy of life as it is through imperfection that the energy to create relationship is fuelled.
Imperfection, incompleteness is the energy of life.
This brings to mind that rather lovely poem by Harold Kushner “Jigsaw” that I shared earlier. I love the way Kushner explains why we are incomplete. That it is through our incompleteness that we draw closer together. This is so true, we are relational beings. We do not live in separation and we do not live separate lives. We are constantly seeking unity, to be yoked beyond ourselves. The word “Yoga” actually means to join, to unite. It seems to me that all the great spiritual traditions, eastern and western, are in their own way pointing to this. That the spiritual life cannot exist in isolation. That in actual fact to live spiritually is to live in relation. That there is a yearning within us all to find that missing piece. In so attempting to do so, by the way, we enable others to do the same.
When we come together in love, we create the love we have all been searching for.
I played a little game this week with friends. I shared the following “The imperfectionist” by Forrest Church with a whole load of friends. It had come up as a “Facebook” memory that morning. As I was about to start sending it round I noticed I had made a typing error in the title, it read “Imperfectionsit. I had made the error several years ago, but no one noticed it at the time. For some reason I noticed it as I read it through. So I added, at the end, that there was a prize for anyone who can spot the imperfection. The responses were wonderful and fascinating. Many replied that they loved the piece, but couldn’t find the imperfection. They told me how the piece spoke to them. Three found it immediately. Several suggested other mistakes, there weren’t any others, but could not see the typo in the title. One cheated after several attempts. They told me that they are a problem solver in work. She didn’t give up, but eventually found it after cheating by copying the text into “Word”, which highlighted the typo. One or two are still looking for it. I loved the whole game and responses that people gave. It showed to me the wonderful and fascinating diversity of the people I have in my life. Beautifully perfectly imperfect folk. It was also an interesting experiment in what different people look at and how many people see what they believe is there, rather than what is actually there.
Here is the piece “The imperfectionsit” by Forrest Church (It is really “The Imperfectionist”)
"The reason I’ve been able to produce so much is that I’m not a perfectionist – I’m an imperfectionist. I’m confident that everything I say can be improved upon by others, and that’s my great strength, because I know that it won’t be improved upon by others unless I take the first step. When we only do things which please us, or don’t frighten us, after a while fewer and fewer things please us. Over time, our circle of options diminishes until we are prisoners in gardens of our own making. The more decisions you make in your life, the more times you act, the more certain it is that you will be wrong. To be fulfilled we need to recognize, all of us, that the world doesn’t owe us a living – rather we owe the world a living. And in the brief time that is given us, we must somehow learn to give ourselves away."
It is a wonderful bit of wisdom don’t you think. Not perfect of course, but very interesting.
Life is a mysterious thing. Nothing fits perfectly together. It is not a perfect circle or a cube that can be put back in perfect order. It is messy and sometimes confusing. It is made up of many pieces, some broken and damaged. It is difficult to make sense and to work out where everything fits, including ourselves. This need not cause us fear. This is the nature of reality. Our task is to make the most of what is ours to draw our imperfect circles and do our little bit with the pieces we have, to place them together, to encourage one another and to bring to life that little mystery that I have come to believe is at the heart of each and everyone of us. In so doing we make this puzzle that is life a little more loving and meaningful for each and everyone of us.
So come play with me at this beautiful game that is life. This perfectly imperfect game of life.
Below is a video devotion based on the material in this "blogspot"
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