January has a particular way to linger. We’re not even half-way through this month, and yet, it seems like we’ve lived a thousand days already. Maybe it’s the fact that I decided to be off Social Media for this month, or that I am waking up earlier, but some days feel eternal. Maybe it’s the fact that January is like the Monday of months. Yes, it can be dreadful. Yes, it seems like it’s longer than 31 days. January is also the beginning and for most of us this new start is not just a chronological one; it’s the time we choose to start fresh. We set new goals, we dream new dreams, we make (and break) resolutions.
The dreaming starts sometime in December and we tend to put everything off until the new year, but when a Monday in January comes around, it feels like we get caught in the nowhere zone. I’m not quite sure if this space is physical or emotional; real or surreal, but the nowhere zone is where we get caught in the in-betweens, the unknowns, the “what-ifs”, the “I should haves"…the “my mind is thinking something but my mouth will utter something else”, often something idiotic, extraordinarily naive, and always with the certainty that we’re not quite sure where we are or how to be.
This particular zone makes us believe we already know everything there is to know because we’ve lived this far; but it also reminds us that we know nothing. Some would argue that makes us sophisticated men and women, aware of our consciousness, but the consciousness caught in the nowhere zone can play tricks on us. So what to do about this? Know the nowhere zone will pass. Remember to pay attention to the here and now. In the vast and complicated puzzle that is life, there’s always something we will not foresee. We’re forced, then, to view our situation from a whole new vantage point.
Forrest Gump said “life is like a box of chocolates” because “you never know what you’re gonna get”, but I think it’s more like a jigsaw puzzle. The box shows us the picture of what we’re supposed to be putting together, and if the picture looks good, we’re eager to find the matching pieces and bring the image together. Sometimes, though, we realize the picture in the box looks great but finding the pieces is such an ordeal. We get discouraged and put off that puzzle until the next time. The pieces are right there, within reach, but we’re unable to see how they come together.
We come back to it on a Monday, or January, and shapes start to make sense again. We pause and look at the big picture; we strategize on how we’re going to finish it. Do we do the borders first? Do we collect pieces by color? Do we use the image on the box as a guide or do we throw ourselves blindly into the wild? Do we invite others to help us?
The puzzle is almost complete; we’ve managed to make sense of the image. We think we understand what this puzzle — and life — is all about. Suddenly, we realize there’s a missing piece. It’s nowhere to be found. We look under the table, on our clothes, in our hair. We blame someone for being careless and possibly losing the piece. We were so close, so close… and now we’re in the nowhere zone.
Life appears before our eyes and we think we see the big picture. We think we get it, we think we’ve learned. But suddenly, there’s a piece out of reach. In fact, it’s nowhere to be found. Life is a collection of jigsaw puzzles. Some of them will have all the pieces, but sometimes, in the nowhere zone, there will be a missing piece.
The “Nowhere Zone” reminds me of the “Waiting Place” in “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” from one of my other favorite authors: Dr. Seuss. Your puzzle metaphor is brilliant.