I write, play the violin, make soup, dance. I have a wine I like, some porcelain statues, a bunch of neckties, two cats. I could go on. These are all shards of the mosaic called “ME.”
Some people collect stuff, cars, houses, gadgets, bottle caps, old magazines. Other people collect things they do, things they like, yoga positions, ideas, places, foods, more shards in their mosaic. It is not about how much we collect but about keeping our mosaic complete, no gaps.
Whenever there is a gap, we tend to run out and find something to fill it.
If only we could hold onto all the shards, all the time, our mosaic would be solid and we could feel successful, complete, full, at peace, lovable, likable, wanted, whole.
We have two hands, two eyes, two ears and one mouth, and just so much time. We use our hands to grasp, our eyes to watch out, our ears to be vigilant, and our mouth to tell others about our mosaic. We are never enough.
We collect from birth and worry what will happen to our shards when we die. It is exhausting but to let a shard go is like cutting off a finger. Our shards are us. We grasp, desperate to hold the mosaic together.
In the end, we are two hands, two eyes, two ears, one mouth, one heart and our tears. We look in the mirror at a wrinkled face and think of what we collected. We wish we could slip quietly back to where it all started because next time we will do a better job collecting.
Less than helpful advice
Celebrate your gaps.
Almond In Your Head 