202206112125 Zen in the face of programming

There's a hill that we climb through our career as programmers.

We start at the bottom where everything is difficult, foreign, and new. We have all the energy, enthusiasm, and patience in the world.

We climb, learn, and grow strong. We enjoy climbing. We get better at it. We ascend at an increasing pace.

But then, we start to lose steam. We no longer have the enthusiasm for the climb that we once did. We want to get to the top at long last. We want the code to be good, complete, perfect. If only we could do that rewrite. If only everyone could write less buggy code.

I know best, I've been climbing for years, let me get to the top already!

We lose faith. We stumble. We despair at the infinitude of the climb in front of us. Surely there is no end. Surely there's no point to it all. The climb breaks us.

And yet, when we're broken, we find the truth — there is no top — there's always one more step. We find that the climb is the purpose. With revelation comes renewed joy and a peaceful, sustainable way to continue the climb.

We find joy in sending other climbers lifelines. We find joy in looking around and coming to know the people below, next to, and above us on the climb.

We submit to the ever-changing nature of the work and code. We enter the cosmic unchanging flow of the universe. All that was, is, and will be will be made and unmade countless times.

The dharma. The Tao. Zen.

Finding zen requires taking the wide view of things. Here are other things that help widen our perspectives.