If it’s all about completion, then it would be a good idea to know just what completion means, and how we can do this thing called “completion.”
 

If we think that completion means that it’s all done, and that no more change or improvement is necessary, well, then we’re in trouble.  There always seems to be one or two little things that need to be worked on to complete a project.  When those one or two little things are done, well, there are always a couple more things that could be improved upon.  And then when those things have been improved upon, then there is just one more little change here that would make it all better.  Now that one little thing has been changed, that seems to open up another area that could use a little more polishing.  There doesn’t seem to be an end to this thing called completion.  That is if it means that it is all done, because it is never “all” done.
 

So let’s look at completion from another point of view.  If we look up the word “complete” it comes from a Latin word which means to “fill up” or “to be fulfilled”.  Now we have a totally different way of looking at completing things in our lives.  If we see completion as a process of filling up or fulfilling ourselves, then all we have to do is ask ourselves, “Do I feel fulfilled with this process, this book, this meal, this closet that wants to be cleaned out, or the garage that is begging for some space, or the relationship that is over.”
 

If this is the definition that I chose to use, then you can go to that book that you’ve only read 34 pages of and say, “I feel complete with this book.  I’m filled up with as much information from this source that I want.  I am fulfilled.”  You can now move the book from your nightstand, dust it off and give it away, put it in the recycle bin, or put it in your bookself.   Done!  You can now go to your closet, and pull out and throw away all of those old t-shirts that have holes in them, close the door and say, “I am complete with cleaning this closet.  I am fulfilled.”  Done!  You can now go that pile of papers on your desk, and move it all into that circular file and say, “I am complete with these papers   I am fulfilled.”  Done!
 

Now you might be thinking, “That’s not right!  You can’t do that!  You’re not complete!”
 

I’m complete if I feel fulfilled.  So let me ask, “When is the meal done?”  Is it when everything on your plate has been eaten or when you feel full?  I would suggest the meal is done when you feel full, when you are fulfilled.  Eating anything more after that point is not a healthy thing to do.  I suspect this is also true in other areas in our lives.
 

The point that I’m attempting to make here is that now that the meal is done, and you feel fulfilled, you can move on to the next thing that is present in your life.  You don’t need to feel guilty or bad, or worry about when you am going to have the time or the energy to go back and eat the rest of that food.  When you are fulfilled in an area, let that process go.  Your mind is free to complete something else.  You don’t need to feel overwhelmed by any incompletes.  Your shoulders relax, you breathe deeper, a smile comes on your face and you feel a sense of joy percolating in your heart.  Nice!
 

So, I would encourage you to go through your home and office and ask the questions, “Am I fulfilled with this book, or this closet or this knitting project.”  If the answer is “yes”, then declare it complete and move it out of your life.  If the answer is “no”, then do what it takes to feel fulfilled, so you can declare it complete.  

We often look at our lives wondering what it’s all about.  We are running here and there.  Doing this and doing that, never seeming to get ahead.  There is an ever expanding “to do” list, another pile of dishes to do, clothes to wash, and bills to pay.  We feel we are like little hamsters running in a circular cage.

“Is this all there is?  What’s it all about?”

I am going to suggest that one of our purposes on this planet is to expand.  We first expanded outside of our mother’s womb, then it was outside of our crib, then it was outside of our house, then down the street, then maybe a different town, and for some a different country.  When we expand we explore new territory.  Sometimes that new territory is in the physical world as I just suggested, and at other times, our expansion is on the inside.  We expand our knowledge of the world when we go to school, we expand our ability to communcate and share with others when we enter into relationships, and we expand our understanding of the human condition when we study prayer and meditation.  It’s and on going thing.  There are worlds without end.  A friend of mine once told me, “When you think you have arrived – keep going.  There is more to discover and more to being.”  It’s called etcetera.

It’s in our expanding that we grow.  It’s in our growing that keeps us alive and vibrant.  If we stop expanding we begin the process of dying.  We get rigid in our bodies and in our thinking process.  Children love to explore and play and touch their toes and discover what is just around the next corner.  They are hungry to know.  If you have forgotten the joy of expanding, of discovering, of learning something new, then give yourself a treat and see if there is a new way to do those dishes.  Is there another way to get to work that you haven’t discovered yet.  Is there something new with your partner that you haven’t noticed?  Is there another way to think about the world that is outside of your comfort zone?  Take a few minutes and follow your thoughts.  Is there a wall your mind runs into?  What is on the other side of that wall, the other side of that thought?  Who is thinking that thought?  Take a deep breath and hold it.  How long can you hold your breath?  Who makes your breathe?  Pick up a book and read a paragraph to someone.  Draw a picture, dance to the music on the radio or the music in your head, laugh sildently and then out loud, lie on your belly and look at the grass with a magnifying glass, look into the eyes of someone you care about and watch your thoughts and emotions.  Smile when you look in the mirror, when you walk down the street, when you drive your car.  Expand your physical world – your emotional world – your mental world – your spiritual world.  Life is waiting for you.