“What are you doing?”

“Finishing a puzzle. Dad?”

“Yes son.”

“What does it mean to fit in?”

“Are you having trouble fitting in?”

“I’m not sure it’s a problem, I was wondering what you think fitting in is.”

“Let’s start with a piece from your jigsaw puzzle. First and most important the piece must be of the right shape. For people, most want to be thin to fit in, but not too thin. Similar to an airplane wing, you don’t want to see the structural framework, the bones, but instead have a smooth touchable surface. This allows it to move with the flow of what surrounds it. It navigates a course of its own choosing, in harmony with others. ”

“So you put in a piece that is as seamless as possible, not too wide, not too high. No rough edges. Extending a large mass without interruption.”

“Yes.”

“Continue.”

“Looking down on the puzzle, you want it to be the right color.”

“So if the piece you are fitting in has surrounding pieces that are white, you should put in a white piece so it looks like the other pieces?”

“Yes, and if the pieces are black you should fit in a black piece.”

“With this logic you would have all one color through the whole puzzle to fit in?”

“Correct.”

“What else?”

“If the piece is to meld with the others it should have the same veneer as the rest. It shines with a sheen that matches its neighbors, or has a dull finish like them.”

“I can see that. Anything else?”

“If you want a really strong puzzle you might glue the piece in place. It will make the rest hard and rigid. One as all, all as one. A whole. What do you think of our puzzle?”

“I don’t like it.”

“Why? What puzzle would you make?”

“It wouldn’t be flat. It shouldn’t go with the flow or be manipulated by it. Seeming to be in control, while it just passes through, unnoticed. I like a mountain range. I want the highs and lows. Some diversity, drama. Get the blood flowing with a chase or climb, and then enjoy a rest at the end for having done something.”

“What about the color?”

“If you went to a museum and saw painting after painting of the same color would you like to go there again and enjoy what you saw?”

“Maybe if the curator explained it as modern art with a mysterious significance I could learn to appreciate it.”

“Would you want to live in a world with only one color? No rainbows?”

“You got me. I like rainbows. What would you do about the veneer?”

“Different clothes, jewelry, hairstyles. Dull and shiny, side to side, diversity, mix it up.”

What about the glue?”

“The social glue?”

“If you like.”

“Money is like that. You give some to someone else and they want to be close to you to get more. I give to you, you give to me. It makes the total relationship stronger but fluid, like blood in a body, giving life because it should pass on to another.”

“What would the overall shape of the puzzle be like? I like circles. No beginning or end. All equal.”

“Like in nature, with the round sun and planets?”

“Yes.”

“But can we improve on nature?”

“How can we? We are nature too!”

“Yes, but human nature.”

“I thought human nature was bad. It is said to be bad when it doesn’t fit in. Being selfish, standing alone, in conflict with others. It wouldn’t make for a pretty picture.”

“We can make what we want. Beauty can be made from combined differences. Nature is full of different things fitting together. That much of the puzzle I have figured out. Thanks for talking to me. I’ll fit in your piece, but I’m not sure how to do that right now.”