I was thinking that the jigsaw puzzle reminded me of how a Tribe works, all the pieces have to fit together for it to work and it made me think of the shape of the pieces in another way.
It occurred to me that the pieces were like people, which had hollows where knowledge may be lacking and protrusions where the knowledge was specialised and greater.
People vary in what they know, but everyone has something to contribute that someone else may not have.
Specialist knowledge is also very valuable within a collection of people as the Tribe model demonstrates.
I think that because the collective knowledge is enhanced by the greater pool of potential ability to be drawn on.
It reminded me of some wisdom where it was said a man and a woman were like a bow and an arrow, not as effective apart, but effective combined.
Combinations seem to produce more effective results than solo efforts mostly.
I think that the lesson here is that when certain things are lost or discarded, that the 'tribe' or people suffers and that can be skills and knowledge lost or forgotten.
When what might be called standards or expectations slip, then the effectiveness suffers. too
In my country this started to happen after WW2, the people had had enough of years of rationing of goods and restrictions and were looking for better times with the victory in 1945.
But this did not happen as the Cold War started out of the ashes of WW2 almost immediately.
I think as a reaction to the strictures of 1939-45 and rationing which was not ended until 1954, that the people went a bit 'freedom mad'. The attitude against regulation meant some adopted a lifestyle that broke away from standards of living, behaviour and personal views which had been a hangover from the Victorian era some 50 years before.
With this, there was also a decline in religious following and respect for authority occurred slowly, but noticeably. In subsequent generations, a loss of respect or appreciation of the relevance of grandparents and older people also ensued.
Rather than being a 'glued together' set of people as in the Indian Tribe, in our country, there has been a gradual disintegration of society.
The colour of wisdom is grey hair and there is something that both the Indian and the Westerner have in common, that the importance of the older people must be brought back to prominence. I have often mixed with people maybe 20 or more years older than me, I find them interesting and their experiences and lives have given me much to draw on and learn from, but I am probably a bit of an exception to many people my age.
I think we are facing difficult times and the Indian people must not lose their 'community glue', or the passing on of their heritage, knowledge and abilities.
It is difficult with many modern day distractions, but history is a very important subject, if we forget the mistakes we only end up making them again.
I see the jigsaw puzzle as representing the ying and yang interlocking pieces that we all must bring to a society.
I am finding a lot of interest in spiritual awareness and of people being able to see through the 'Sage brush' and see the truth and how things are or could be.
There is much enlightenment coming out of people now that it is quite amazing when I think back to maybe 20 years ago and a lot of this being spoken of now was 'underground' and you were looked down on for saying it, or judged as mad for holding certain views.
My observation is that people are starting to see through the deceptions and slowly moving forward to a new place. About time!
I recalled a Chief saying that the great mystery is just that, because you can't know it all.
It all remains a puzzle, so to speak.
We have come back full circle to where I started, with a puzzle.
I think that as we live our lives, we collect pieces of knowledge and build a bigger picture that is revealed and we can only truly see at the end of things, when we are ready to transition to something higher.
Many of us find we are asking what our purpose is, maybe to learn a bit more each life and build that ultimate picture.
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