Quote de jour
"Life is a blank slate. What matters most is what you write on it."

Tabula rasa is Latin for blank slate. Last summer, I visited vegetable and flower gardens weekly at a park and documented the changes. Every spring, the greenhouse gets whitewashed and grafitti spings up like weeds. There were romantic odes, lover's initials, political stances ( I heart Obama) and symbols drawn by hand onto the chalky glass surface. Surprisingly enough, no foul language sullied the wall. It's hard to be negative surrounded by so much beauty. Beside the greenhouse, a long border of dahlias of dazzling colors grew and inspired me week after week. They're gone now, as is the grafitti. At first, I mourned the loss of words, of color, of leaves, of life but then, the aha moment...


The slate had been wiped clean in order for a new life begin. I walked over and peeked inside the greenhouse. Lush flowering plants greeted me. In an overlooked corner, the last bit of grafitti peeked out, an eye. I looked and listened. What else did I need to see? What was I not hearing? I waited for the message. Look, the dahlias aren't dead. They're just sleeping until next year.  Sometimes, we need to wipe our slates clean before we can begin something new.  What tabula rasa is waiting for you?