Coming in waves

The teacher stands in front of the class and writes down the word “Photosynthesis” on the blackboard. She sounds it out slowly. She explains that it’s the process where plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create their own food. In the process, the plant releases oxygen back into the environment. She keeps the word on the blackboard for most of the morning. Then, she erases it and moves onto the next lesson. It’s like the word never appeared.

Likewise, a coder spends his morning working on new software. When he gets to a tricky spot, he “writes over” some of the code that he had written the previous week. When he’s done, he’s excited about the new features. He laughs thinking about how the old code has been completely erased, but helped him get to his final destination. Finally, a little kid pulls up an Etch A Sketch,  the mechanical drawing toy, and creates several simple squares. She looks closely at what she has created and then shakes it and starts all over again.

We erase and start over.

I walked last week on a Delaware beach. I would plant my feet firmly in the sand. And then I would take a step back and watch the waves and surf rush in. Each new wave washed away my footprints, creating a whole new slate. All to be repeated again and again.

Where once I had stood firmly in place, the water had come in erasing any impact. Life is kind of the same way. Each new day erases the one before. Each new day presents new challenges and opportunities.

It is up to us what we make of it.