Like most people, I enjoy closure. Please, I want no stray glasses when I’m finished doing the dishes. I place the cap snuggly on the pen. I say definitive goodbyes. I complete the last chapter of most books before picking up the next one. I invest emotionally in a movie and expect the cliffhanger resolved before the credits roll. When the game is over, there is a winner and a loser.

On the other hand, I can learn from loose ends.

I can dream in anticipation of when I meet her again and plan what to say to impress. I can tell myself that I will finish writing that book and believe it! I can refrain from responding to a friend’s unwelcomed comment and instead discern its countless meanings. I can resist eating all the brownies in the tin, leaving some for my son, (maybe not).

Although they stretch my level of stress, these loose ends often teach me patience and some semblance of self-discipline. Possibilities become endless when I’m missing the end. To compensate for this state of incompletion, I am forced to draw on imagination. My creative side fills in some of the gaps with unexpected details. What I leave unfinished welcomes more input. I design for or wallow in what might happen.

I can genuinely learn to appreciate loose ends for what they bring to me. Hope. I can stew in hope.

Loose ends

Every thread in the cloth weaves a purpose, even the loose ones. Tightly connected, they create a design. Dangling loose, they dance in the wind. Both draw our eyes to their creativity. One for their pattern – one for their spontaneity.

Harness power and direct the outcome. Surrender power and embrace the unknown. Strengthen blood through bonding. Increase blood flow through freedom. Both paths lead us through life; one through ambition and one through faith.

Tie up loose ends….loosen up tied ends.

B. Toner                 December 2016