"done" is not "over"

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About 12 years ago, I built a zendo or meditation hall in the backyard. It took something more than a year to construct. My left thumbnail suffers from a permanent split where I hit it while trying to pound in a 16-penny nail. The building, which is a mere 16x12 feet square, has uncountable flaws: I never was a master carpenter. Cut and drill, lift and pound, correct and sand, paint and create ... and eventually it was done.

Done.

How wonderful it would be if something were ever truly done. Things get done, but just because they are done does not mean they are over. Lightning hit the zendo several years back. It blew a couple of holes in the wall and fried the electricity. It had to be repaired. Gutters have to be cleaned year over year. The bamboo I planted outside because I thought bamboo would look sexy proved to have a mind of its own, sneaking and spreading hither and yon until I gave up that bit of sex appeal and ripped it out.

And it's equally true of anything I can think of. Nothing is ever over however "done" it may be. How nice if something could be "done" and you could count on its remaining firm and undisturbed and unchanging. The expectation may be there, but the facts don't support the assertion of "done." How nice if the dismissive "been there, done that" held any water.

It certainly is an expectation worth dealing with: "Done" is not "over."

"Get 'er done!"
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