The First Problem With The Puzzle
In the last blog post, I talked about each of us taking our piece of this puzzle and working on it, trusting that everyone else is doing the same. In the last day or so, my mind keeps fidgeting over two big problems with that worldview. It’s hard when your own mind won’t just give you a break and believe what you tell it to believe.
First and foremost, how do we know what our piece of the puzzle is? This problem is less of one in my mind. The way I see it, we have two ways to figure out what our puzzle piece is. The first way is easy – there is something that grabs your heart. Some people are like this; they know what they are passionate about. It moves them, it drives them, it fills their hearts. And so they go after it. Maybe the how changes over the course of their lives, but the what does not. Maybe they start out caring about animals as a child by keeping good care of their own pets, and then they volunteer to be a dog walker for the Humane Society, and then they become a good advocate for abused animals, and then maybe enter a career as a vet or a administrator for an animal rights organization. Their puzzle piece has always been in their heart.
I’m always in awe of those people. But, confession time: that ain’t me. Nope. I couldn’t tell you a single thing, or even a handful of things that I care deeply about. I am like a toddler at the fair, stumbling from one flashy ride to another, constantly distracted and excited about whatever is in front of me. For awhile, I thought that I was less than because of this. I thought I was just not committed enough to things to care about them like some people care about water access in the developing world or racial equity in public schools.
That’s a damned lie. I care about all those things, and because of that, I can’t make any single one my focus. So where’s my puzzle piece? Unlike someone who changes the “how” but keeps the “what”, I accepted that I’m going to let the “what” change, but keep the “how”. I have skills, and at each stage of my life, I have been able to find the thing in front of me that needs those skills. Right now, I’m immersed in my local community and elementary school. So I’m bringing all my skills, thoughtfulness and passion to making sure those two places are as welcoming, just and resourced as I can. Someday, my kids will age out and I will find another thing in front of me. When I find it, I’ll bring those same skills to that piece of the puzzle, perhaps passing on the elementary school piece to some new parent coming along.
Ok, this blog is already getting long, so I am going to save the second, harder problem for another day. But I’ll leave you with this, reader. Which type are you? How has that worked for you? Have you embraced it? Have you fought it? What is the “how” in your life and what is the “what”?
