We Are Never Quite Finished: Lessons from the Sagrada Familia

Recently, I visited the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona—a building famous for being designed by the renowned architect Antoni Gaudí.

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One of the most striking things I learned was this: the original design for the Sagrada was meant to resemble something closer to Westminster Abbey far more than the organic, nature-inspired sculpture it has become today.

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The Sagrada represents an imperfect mash-up of ideas, creativity, and innovation—layered over time by the many architects who have collaborated on it. It’s a living monument to evolution.

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Gaudí, in his infinite wisdom and humility, recognised this before his sudden, tragic death:

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“There is no reason to regret that I cannot finish the church. I will grow old but others will come after me. What must always be conserved is the spirit of the work, but its life has to depend on the generations it is handed down to and with whom it lives and is incarnated.”

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He understood that while the spirit of the work must be preserved, its form could (and should) evolve. This philosophy has guided the continuation of the Sagrada Familia long after his death, with successive architects interpreting and building on his vision, each adding their own unique touch.

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So, where am I going with this?

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Recently, Snapchat memories kindly reminded me that it’s been seven years since I left high school. I swiped through photos of a young(er) me and wondered what it would be like to be that person again.

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What thoughts did I have? What interested me? What opinions did I hold?

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Part of me felt a familiar resentment toward growing up, a longing to return to the innocence and simplicity of youth.

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But amidst that nostalgia, I realised something:

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Being an organic, changing, evolving human is the most authentic version of yourself you can be.

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Taking inspiration from others, whilst simultaneously holding onto your past. Borrowing your friends’ clothes. Wearing that t-shirt you’ve had since your teens. Being prepared to disagree with your previous beliefs. Clinging to your core values. Experimenting with new religious ideas. Maintaining the values you were taught. Moving somewhere new, whilst keeping those phrases and terminology from your hometown.

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It’s in this beautiful contradiction that we become inherently… us.

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That you become… inherently you.

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Just like the Sagrada Familia, with its ever-evolving design. If it had stayed the same, resisting the influence of new architects and ideas, it wouldn’t be the masterpiece it is today.

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Equally, if we didn’t embrace the different styles, influences, and ideas we encounter throughout life, we wouldn’t be the unique concoctions we are today.

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I also learned that the original entrance to the Sagrada is soon to be demolished to make way for a new foyer - the final (supposedly) part of construction.

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In the same way, sometimes we need to let go of parts of ourselves that no longer serve us, to make space for something more beautiful, more evolved, and truer to who we are becoming.

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Maybe this analogy is a little far-fetched, having been scribbled down after too much sangria one evening.

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…but maybe, just like the Sagrada, our beauty lies in the fact that we are never quite finished. We are continuous works in progress. And that’s what makes us so unique, so exceptional, and so deeply human.

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