i think i always keep a few unfinished things around so there is something to anticipate. it's always been that way. it must be a deep-seated thing for me, psychologically, because i had a dream several years ago that stuck with me, and it still gives me a chill--i dreamed that my house was perfectly cleaned, no projects laying around. the carpets were perfectly clean, the furniture free of anything, anybody, any pets. no cat hair, no dog fur, no bird feathers, anywhere. the walls were pristine, the windows clear, with sun shining in. as i got to the last room i was surveying, the carpet was perfect, thick and beautiful. the sheers in the picture window were moving in the breeze. there was no sheet music on the piano, no dust on the oak table--so i laid down on the carpet, and i died.
it has stayed with me, as if it was yesterday. i think it was just symbolic of how i love my life--always something to look forward to doing, reading, fixing, sewing, "yarning". and i find myself deliberately not finishing some things--a chapter left in a book i fell in love with 20 years ago (i didn't want to ever end); a quilt top that's done, but has been in line for finishing for five years; the project someone asked me to finish--for them. it's the "trying on" of things that whets our appetite for creating things--and if it "fits", i know i'll get it ready for the perfect occasion. and don't forget the joy of discovery in all of what we do--it's the learning and newness that fuels us.