There is a Swedish word, livspussel, which means, roughly translated, jigsaw puzzle of life. For some it's a witty metaphor, denoting the struggle of putting all of the pieces in your life in the right place: work, family, hobbies and spare time. And yes, I get the picture. If you can make all the pieces fit, great. If not, you have to switch things around until they fit. It's just that I really abhor this word and I refuse to use it. Let me tell you why.
My life is not a jigsaw puzzle. It is not meant to be solved. It is not meant to be finished. Ever. It is meant to be lived. To begin with, my life consists of several themes made up by an innumerable amount of fragments. These themes are constantly changing and there is no image of a final result. As a consequence, the different themes in life are not made up by square pieces that can only fit in one place. Granted, sometimes the fragments are only loosely held together, making you wonder however you will sort things out. Nevertheless, trying to convince yourself that there is only one correct way of doing things will only be discouraging. Instead of aspiring that unattainable - and quite frankly - boring picture, isn't it more agreeable to view life as a painting? It starts out as a sketch; along the way you might have to erase certain strokes and do them over. But the more you live, the more you learn and the clearer the painting becomes. You work on it every day, and you add color and light. There doesn't have to be an image of a final result, although you probably have some ideas. Ask a real artist: a painting is never completed. Neither is a text. Having said that I will probably change this post a couple of times. ;)
Going back to the previous image of the jigsaw puzzle, there is one aspect I like about it. However, it only comes out in English, and it's the ambiguity of the word puzzle. Subtracting jigsaw, a puzzle is a mystery, a riddle and a secret. Honestly, life is extremely weird and strange sometimes, and we will never fully understand it. Hence the puzzle!
There are other words that I strongly dislike in the Swedish language. Some are more difficult to explain in English, others are easier. Moreover, I can't even explain why they make me so irritated. Do you have any words that you can't stand, English or Swedish? Don't be shy. Share them with us!
My life is not a jigsaw puzzle. It is not meant to be solved. It is not meant to be finished. Ever. It is meant to be lived. To begin with, my life consists of several themes made up by an innumerable amount of fragments. These themes are constantly changing and there is no image of a final result. As a consequence, the different themes in life are not made up by square pieces that can only fit in one place. Granted, sometimes the fragments are only loosely held together, making you wonder however you will sort things out. Nevertheless, trying to convince yourself that there is only one correct way of doing things will only be discouraging. Instead of aspiring that unattainable - and quite frankly - boring picture, isn't it more agreeable to view life as a painting? It starts out as a sketch; along the way you might have to erase certain strokes and do them over. But the more you live, the more you learn and the clearer the painting becomes. You work on it every day, and you add color and light. There doesn't have to be an image of a final result, although you probably have some ideas. Ask a real artist: a painting is never completed. Neither is a text. Having said that I will probably change this post a couple of times. ;)
Going back to the previous image of the jigsaw puzzle, there is one aspect I like about it. However, it only comes out in English, and it's the ambiguity of the word puzzle. Subtracting jigsaw, a puzzle is a mystery, a riddle and a secret. Honestly, life is extremely weird and strange sometimes, and we will never fully understand it. Hence the puzzle!
There are other words that I strongly dislike in the Swedish language. Some are more difficult to explain in English, others are easier. Moreover, I can't even explain why they make me so irritated. Do you have any words that you can't stand, English or Swedish? Don't be shy. Share them with us!
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