Unfinished? Forgotten?

Issue #61

As I write this, I am listening to the songs of Simon and Garfunkel, one of my favorite groups. Like many people, I was disappointed when they broke up. I loved their songs, which defined the world for me as a teenager, and I loved the lyrics. However, I stopped following either musician after they broke up. I should have followed Simon since he was the creative genius behind the group. The above lyrics come from Kathy's Song, which he wrote in 1965 while in England.

Do you have any creative work left unfinished? A project? A painting? A poem? A novel? I do. I spent six years writing a novel but never finished it. I also have several short stories. These days, I tend to write my poems in one sitting with minimal rewriting.

During my forty years in health care, I worked on many projects that were never finished. My bosses assigned some projects, and before I could complete them, they lost interest and never asked about them again. Sometimes, in business, people assign what they believe to be urgent projects only to find out they are not needed. I have found that many people have more work than they have time to complete, so only the most urgent and essential are finished.

Do you believe in what you create, or do you, like Simon in these lyrics, doubt what you have made? Have you lost faith in your creative skills?

Leonardo da Vinci was known for not finishing his paintings. Although he painted only twenty paintings in his lifetime, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are two of the most famous paintings in the world. He worked on the Mona Lisa for fourteen years, and it was still in his studio when he died.

Leonardo’s wide range of interests in art, engineering, science, theater, and the humanities often distracted him from finishing his creative work. Instead, he recorded his innovative ideas, including his ideas for a flying machine, in more than 7,000 journal pages.

Creative leaders enjoy exploring new ideas so much that they often forget to finish their projects. They are constantly exploring the next idea. Do you have paintings lying around that you have not finished? Or stories that you can't seem to finish? Or creative projects that you have not completed.

Leonardo may be driving at something even more profound. No art is ever finished. Sure, we may sell a painting or publish a novel, but if we could, we would go back and change it. And some artists do. I have read of writers making changes even as the novel goes to the printer.

And sometimes, a writer spends a lifetime rewriting the same story. He may publish 10 novels, but each is a variation of the others. And artists may paint the same subject over and over. Each time, they try to perfect what they missed before.

Do specific themes reappear in your writing, paintings, or projects? Are there personal issues that you are working out in your art?

Plant seeds of hope in the hearts of others!

Thanks for reading.