Fitting the puzzle back together

Broken or not?
London, ON
February 2009

I'd like to round out this week's exploration of "broken" (click here to get yours in before we launch a new theme tonight) with an existential question: What is "broken", anyway?

Seriously, who defines that something is broken. And do we necessarily need to subscribe to the notion that something that is broken is, by definition, not somehow worthy? For example, shattered glass can either be something to be swept into a recycling bin and shipped to oblivion, or something to be incorporated into a stunning work of art.

Or this puzzle. It started out life, I'm guessing, as a single piece of cardboard before being carved up and broken up into its current form. Is it truly broken? Or is it merely something in transition, just waiting for folks like you and me to come along, pick up the pieces and figure out what to do with them.

Sometimes the process is as simple as fitting the pre-formed puzzle pieces into each other. Sometimes, it's a little more involved than that. In any case, it's always a process of exploration, and I'm glad we were able to explore it this past week. Thank you.

Your turn: So, what's the deal with this puzzle? Broken? Not? Something in between? As Linda Richman once said, talk amongst yourselves.