Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Peg and the Hole Problem


There are several ways to approach this whole problem. But just in case we are not on the same page maybe a Wikipedia or some other internet resource definition will help so Google it.

For you lazy people or those with no internet access here is a breakdown. “A square peg in a round hole is an idiomatic expression which describes the unusual individualist who could not fit into a niche of his society

There are so many variations on this but they are all somewhere within the vicinity of the above description. When I speak of pegs and holes I am speaking mostly about how a person feels about his place in this world. The questions of purpose and or destiny hound most of us, subtly or conspicuously and viciously like the famed headless horseman.

Pound the peg till it fits
Of course before we go on I am working on the assumption that the whole purpose is for pegs to plug holes. Like I stated there are several ways that this can be dealt with all this.

You could pound the peg into the hole with all you might and make it fit. This damages the hole and the peg and wears out whoever does the banging.

Whittle away till it fits
You could whittle away the peg until it fits into the hole. But this leaves very little of the peg especially if the hole is small. The peg may fit but it shall never belong.

You could find a bigger hole in which the peg could fit but it will never full plug the hole cause it’s not meant for that.

You could perhaps fit the right peg on the right hole but life never really gives up perfect pegs or holes. The world is not filled that way.

You could also give up and say you don’t need the hole or the peg but well you will be left with lots of useless pegs and still many holes.

You could even expand the whole...but the results will be similar is fear.

modify the hole you could
I find that many times some of these methods achieve a modicum of success but I also believe that there is a perfect hole for every plug or vice versa and that we should never really give up or give in until we find that perfect spot.

From a faith point of view, perhaps this seems very eastern religionish, and perhaps it is but in my walk with God I have tried so many things and then some more especially in my later more adult year. I find that many times we are so keen to fit in that we quickly surrender to the “status quo” or whatever is popular at that time.

We ignore our gift, talents, loves, interest, preference, personality and character. We ignore all that we are created in pursuit of fitting into a hole forgetting that ever peg was cut from a block and every block is missing a peg…and sometimes each peg has to find IT’S hole, its home, its place.


Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
Isaiah 51:1