Friday, June 21, 2013
C-word:  Completed

Today is the first day of Summer.  Spring is officially "completed".  It is more than just "finished", for spring will be back, but for 2013, it's cycle is complete.  I've been thinking of this word all day, looking for ways that it could apply.  I don't know why, but I've given this one more thought that the others over the last week, which is saying a lot, as I've been really going for it with this program. 

When I'm done with The 90-Day CEO, I will officially be certified as a Presenter.  I will have "completed" the  Discovery Course.  Funny how that word is supposed to be an adjective, but I just used it as a verb. 

Truly, I am a work in progress.  It is I who must find completion, to be "completed".  Golly, will that ever happen?  There is so much to learn, so much to do, so many things to discover.  I almost don't like the thought of being "completed".  That would mean I was pretty much dead;  not looking forward to that quite yet. :)

There is a difference between "completed" and "finished", I believe.  The day will be finished here in about 25 minutes, but perhaps some of my tasks are not genuinely "completed".  So many times I've gone to bed thinking about all the things I still had to do, how many were only partially done, how many were incomplete.  The day will be finished, but the tasks continue on.  Making a bed is never "completed", I feel.  Being "completed" clearly suggests never doing it again.  Why would there be a need?  It is already "completed".  But I can make a bed daily and be finished for that particular bed-making moment.  Dishes, making the bed, cleaning the house, putting gas in the car, being a parent, etc.;  we can finish those, but it never goes away or stays away until they are "completed". 

There is much dignity in 'completing' things, as well.  A carpenter can make a cabinet or table or whatever, and eventually "complete" the project. He will never have to worry about finishing that project ever again.   Same with quilting, crafts and hobbies.  Same with many other things.  They can be "completed".  Projects can be "completed".  Procrastination, it seems to me, is the nemesis of  being "completed", for nothing would ever progress.  Is there REALLY a difference between 'completed' and 'finished'?

For instance, I made Christmas ornaments last Fall.  I finished them all, and they're truly beautiful.  They are currently tucked away under my bed, lying dormant, doing nothing of the measure of their creation for which they were made.  I'm sure I'll never feel that they're completed until they get to do what they were designed to do.  It seems sad, thinking of them doing nothing under the bed.  I sincerely hope they're never "completed" in their purpose, that they continue to bring smiles and sweet nostalgia every Christmas season. 
Is THAT the difference between 'finished' and 'completed'?

Wow, the more I think about this, the more I don't know if I'm interested in being "completed".  I want to go on and on, finishing this or that, but never ceasing to be a work in progress.  The discovery of ME, the becoming of ME, is a journey I'm still enjoying.