There’s a half-formed pendant tucked in the back of my drawer. It’s silver, slightly warped, with a bezel that never quite sat right. I started it during a week when everything felt off—my hands, my heart, even the moon.

I didn’t finish it. And for a long time, I thought that meant I’d failed.

But now I see it differently. That unfinished piece is a marker. A moment when I chose rest over perfection. When I let myself pause instead of push. It’s a quiet kind of resilience—the kind that doesn’t sparkle, but still holds shape.

I remember sitting at my bench, tools laid out like ritual. I was tired in a way that felt deeper than physical—like my creativity had gone quiet. I stared at the sketch, adjusted the bezel again, tried to will the piece into being. But nothing flowed. It felt forced, disconnected. So I did something I rarely let myself do: I stopped. I stepped away. I let the silence speak.

And that was new for me. I’m used to pushing through, to finishing even when it hurts. But that day, I let myself walk away. I lit a candle. I made tea. I didn’t touch my tools for two days.That pendant still lives in my drawer. Not as a mistake, but as a reminder: I’m allowed to be unfinished too. I haven't been able to bring myself to adding it to my recycle bin to be melted and repurposed.

Sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do is not finish. To let something remain raw, unresolved, and real. That’s where growth hides—in the pause, in the breath between attempts, in the quiet permission to begin again later.

I’ve since made other pieces inspired by that moment. Softer ones. More intuitive. I’ve learned that my best work doesn’t come from force—it comes from listening. To myself, to the materials, to the moon.

If you’ve ever felt unfinished, you’re not alone. You’re in good company—with silver scraps, moonstone fragments, and a jewelry maker who’s learning to honor the pause.

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