"I stared across the arroyo at the runoff which was cascading down the opposite bank. The entire bank was washing away but the areas held together by grass were eroding more slowly than the unprotected bare areas. This slower erosion turned the clumps of grass into high points which diverged the runoff around them. Many clumps eventually washed down the slope and disappeared in the brown flood below. Yet for as long as each clump of grass remained, it created a divergence which reduced the energy of the cascade. Even if the grass was washed away, it had reduced erosion during the time it stood. If those plants had not been growing on the side of the arroyo, the erosion would have been worse.
"I am like the grass, I thought. My efforts prevent the erosion from being worse. Even if the flood washes my efforts away, my resistance will have absorbed some of the flood's energy and lessened the erosion that would have otherwise happened. Whether my efforts are enough to 'win' depends upon the force I oppose. If the force is small enough, I shall 'win' If it is large enough, I 'lose.' To be proud of 'winning' is to be proud of encountering a force smaller than myself. I should forget about 'winning' and, like the grass, simply resist the erosion."
-- Paul Krapfel, Shifting
