What it is like looking for love, and what traps we may find on the way.

The moral of the story: maybe we should think more on what we can offer and less about what we need from the others.

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein

The missing piece sat alone waiting for someone to come along and take it somewhere... somewhere to fit. But could not roll.

Others could roll but did not fit.

One didn't know a thing about fitting, And another didn't know a thing about anything.

One was too delicate.

One put it on a pedestal and left it there.

Some had too many pieces missing. Some had too many pieces, period.

It learned to hide from hungry ones.

More came...

Some looked too closely... Others rolled right by without noticing.

It tried to make itself more attractive... It didn't help.

It tried being flashy, but that just frightened the shy ones away.

At last one came along that fit just right.

But all of a sudden, the missing piece began to grow and grow!

- "I didn't know you were going to grow"
- "I didn't know it either" said the missing piece.
- "I'm looking for my missing piece that won't increase. Bye" ...sigh!!!!!!

And then one day, one came along who looked different.

- "What do you want of me?"
- "Nothing"
- "What do you need from me?"
- "Nothing"
- "Who are you?", asked the missing piece
- "I am the Big O" said Big O.
- "I think you are the one, I have been waiting for", said the missing piece. "Maybe I'm your missing piece"
- "But I'm not missing a piece. There is no place you would fit."
- "That's too bad, I was hoping that perhaps I could roll with you..."
- "You cannot roll with me, but perhaps you can roll by yourself"
- "By myself? A missing piece cannot roll by itself"
- "Have you ever tried?"
- "But I have sharp corners. I'm not shaped for rolling"
- "Corners wear off, and shapes change, anyhow, I must say good-bye! Perhaps we will meet again"
And away it rolled

The missing piece was alone again...

For a long time. It just sat there.
Then...
Slowly...
It lifted itself up on one end.
Plop!
And flopped over.
Then lifted ..pull..flop. It began to move forward.
And soon its edges began to wear off.
Lift.. Pull.. flop.. lift ..pull ..flop..
And it's shape began to change.
And then it was bumping instead of flopping.
And then it was bouncing instead of bumping.
And then it was rolling instead of bouncing.
And it didn't know where and it didn't care. It was rolling!

Peace.

COME ALONG= If someone comes along, they come to where you are.

ROLLED= To roll is to move turning around over a surface, but in colloquial American English, somebody's roll is the way they behave and/or the way they think, their philosophy of life:
- I like the way you roll, baby.

TO FIT= If two things fit, they are right together, they connect properly, they are the right size and shape for each other.

DIDN'T KNOW A THING= Knew nothing.

PERIOD (AmE) = Full stop (AmE). This is a punctuation mark (.) that we put at the end of the last sentence in a paragraph to show that it has finished, that the idea is now completely express, nothing more to add.  So when talking, if we say "period" at the end of a sentence, we mean that there is no more things to say, that what we say is the whole true. Example:
- Do you like Anne?
- No, not at all.
- Well, I know she is a bit stupid, but she is also very intelligent and helpful sometimes.
- No, I think Anne is stupid, period.

ROLLED RIGHT BY= "To roll by" means to pass near us rolling but without stopping. We can use BY with all verbs of movement to express this same idea (walk by, run by, jump by, etc). The word RIGHT often emphasizes time and space, so here, to roll "right by" means to pass very near us rolling.

FLASHY= Giving a momentary or superficial impression of brilliance.

ALL OF A SUDDEN= Suddenly.

INCREASE= Become bigger in size or ammount.

THAT'S TOO BAD= A phrase we say to express that we are sorry for something that happens to other people or to ourselves. We often use it to express emphathy, solidarity with other peopel's problems:
- What happened to your leg?
- I had an accident, I broke it in three places.
- Oh, that's too bad.
- Thanks.

WEAR OFF= If something wears off, it deteriorates with use over time.

LIFTED To lift is to elevate something, to push it up.

FLOPPED OVER= To flop is to fall or lie down heavily and noisily. To flop over is to totally change your position by falling or lying down heavily and noisily (as with a 'flop' sound).

BUMPING= To bump is to knock into a new position, as when you hit something.

BOUNCING= To bounce is to rebound, like a ball.

PEACE= (slang) A colloquial way of saying "goodbye".