If you’ve ever finished a puzzle only to find a piece is missing, you know the feeling. I call it distressing.

When it happens, I consider the entire puzzle a bit of a failure. The frustration of an incomplete image lingers.

Each piece contributes to the entire picture.

I believe we are all like pieces of a puzzle. Maybe nothing all that special on our own, but as part of a complete picture; important.

All the pieces matter.

Do you see yourself in this manner? Do you recognize yourself as a piece of a puzzle called humanity?

No matter how unworthy you may feel. No matter how unimportant you may believe yourself to be, you contribute your own unique experience to the human condition.

You have value. Use your talents to add to the design of your life and the lives of others.

Nothing else matters.

Let children know they are of value. Not above the rest. Not below the pile. Capable of great contributions. Forever irreplaceable.