Life consists of moments. Moments are like pictures stored in the memory album and always available to slowly scroll through for remembrance.

Last year was a milestone birthday for Charl. Milestone birthdays force us to look back on the memorable moments of life. Charl’s love of puzzles and mine for photos were the building blocks for his gift idea. 

Ravensburger in Germany allows one the opportunity to design a personalised jigsaw puzzle with your photos. The design of the gift provided me with just as much joy as the building did for Charl.

Our life is like one big puzzle

Our life is a big puzzle consisting of moments that shape and colour the picture. There are times when we can only focus on the pieces unpacked on the table that look like a mess.

In times that feel overwhelming, it helps to embark on a creative and therapeutic project to give our subconscious mind a chance to make sense of what may seem confusing. It allows our subconscious mind to look holistically at our lives and see all the pieces as challenges or opportunities rather than impossibilities. We are beginning to understand how these puzzle pieces fit together to create a bigger picture.

Our pictures consist of coloured but also black and grey pieces. The black and grey pieces help us to have more appreciation for the coloured parts. It is the contrasts that make the artwork unique.

We need to create memorable moments

We must create opportunities for memorable moments. For years I have been using December months to go through my year’s photos and sort them. It forms part of my way of reflecting on the year, but it is also a valuable encouragement to be open to new ideas and create opportunities for special moments.

My life is less hectic in Switzerland, and I deliberately focus on just enjoying the everyday moments. I have to be present to observe. My time together with Zander as our youngest is rapidly diminishing. This realisation encourages me to focus on being present and enjoy it when we drink our morning coffee in bed.

I have started to observe activities in the area and changes in nature more consciously when I walk to the store. I make eye contact and smile when I greet the people I pass by. It turns into an enjoyable shared moment that forms part of each other’s day.

We need to allow each other memorable moments

As my sons grow up and start living their own lives, I am more aware of the importance of allowing each other memorable moments. Within a family, individuals have different passions, favourite places and people.

Kahlil Gibran expresses it so beautifully in the following piece he wrote with a marital relationship in mind, but it is just as valid with other close relationships:

Shared moments despite the distances between us

Covid times force us to be creative in our efforts to at least be together in spirit. As family and friends around the world, we embarked on various creative projects. The projects included paint-by-numbers, diamond-dot-painting, acrylic paint on canvas and Lego and other building projects.

We excitedly shared our progress with pictures and thus experienced togetherness.

Regards

Emsia