UNFINISHED

UNFINISHED

A large amount of fabric purchased over the span of the years occupies space in my home. Every yard was purchased with an intended purpose in mind. Some is cut into pieces waiting to become something. To be honest – most of the fabric is as it was when I carried it across the threshold of the backdoor. The fabric has been organized by seasons and put into storage bins. Seasonally, I might open the bin and sometimes I remember why I purchased it and sometimes not. I often select a piece or two with the intention of using it and put it aside. The fact that I am telling you this fabric ritual means that my intentions are mostly unrealized. I haven’t purchased a yard in more than two years, and I still have more than enough.

As autumn and winter merged, I laid a dark gray, dotted with pink, greenish yellow and white dots piece of fabric in a visible spot. On a Monday in February, the piece of fabric found its way to a chair in the living room where it stayed until Friday. Progress - at least a piece of fabric changed rooms. On Friday, I had a decision to make. The fabric was either going to become something or it would leave the premises.

As I laid the fabric out to cut for the construction of the easiest and simplest garment I could think of, an oversized maxi duster, I noticed a natural curl to the unfinished edges of the fabric. I saw possibilities. If I retained the curl, it might add panache to the piece and save time. I started cutting at 10:30 AM. My fashion piece was completed by 2:30 PM. I wore it to church the following Sunday.

There are a myriad of insights that could be drawn from what you have read already. The thought that lingered with me was possibilities unfold when one works with unfinished edges rather than against them. I am guilty of not knowing when a painting or a written piece is finished, so I needed this insight. What you are reading right now was ‘finished” at least three times and yet it is posted unfinished.

Finding a human that is completely satisfied with their inner and outer self is rare – which might offer insight into the scarcity of appointments to see mental health professionals, why gyms have no shortage of members and why a nail salon is located on every corner. We are a society of seekers of the finished look and inner peace. We are seekers of perfection. Is that inherently wrong? I think not. But who achieves perfection? No one. There is always an edge that is unfinished.

Perhaps one of the beauties of living fully is found in the acceptance of one’s unfinished and unpolished places by allowing them to add a certain panache to our existence. It is these unfinished edges that set one apart from all the rest. Had I finished the garments edges with a hand or machine stitch, I don’t think it would have stood out at all.

Proverbs 16:3

PONDER THIS THOUGHT---The idea of perfection is the only thing that hits the elusive target.