Are you sure you can't step into the same river twice?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

You broke up a long time ago, and now you want to try to start everything from scratch? Or left a boring job, but it turned out that it was just a paradise compared to others? I so want to return, but people say that you cannot enter the same river twice. What did Heraclitus really mean by saying this phrase? Let's figure it out and at the same time decide whether it is worth spending time and mental strength on a second attempt.

Of course, everything flows, everything changes. Therefore, literally: you cannot enter the same river twice. And to be more precise, the first time I entered the water, the river is new every moment. Like the person himself at the level of biology: cell division, the movement of energy, fluids throughout the body - is constantly changing. A person and the other himself in the next minute, second, instant… So it turns out that you cannot enter the river twice.

Heraclitus was talking about just such a transformation of life processes. Therefore, if you meet someone or get a new job, personal or business relationships are constantly changing and will never be the same. But they can improve or worsen relative to the subject with whom the transformations occur.

But why do people mean by saying “you can't step into the same river twice” that it's pointless to try again to build relationships? Or, relying on a well-known phrase, do they maintain a victorious look, being afraid to bow so that the crown does not fly off? The answer is simple: these are justifications that are so convenient to hide behind. Of course, after all, the great Heraclitus uttered a clever idea, and who will refute the authority? There is no need to dispute, because the truly outstanding philosopher was not talking about what his contemporaries attributed.

So what to do: to be or not to be a second attempt? Enter the same river twice or look for another? We will look for the solution to this puzzle exclusively through the river, in front of which you are now standing in thought, so that it is clearer and so that the wounds of the past are not disturbed.

Here it is - the ever-changing river. in front of you. And you are not the same as you were a moment ago. So what of that? Set sail and experience all the good that was? Or is it scary to get wet again, freeze and be smashed against steep rapids? If you are like this, floundering into the water from a bay, nothing good will come of it, even if you are a swimmer, what to look for. Let's pay attention to the fact that the river is familiar to you. You know all her whims: where is a warm current, where is it cold, where is she affectionate, and where is she drawn into a whirlpool … Use knowledge to your advantage. You can swim in a kayak or a raft - it's up to you. But the fact that the journey should be prepared taking into account past mistakes is beyond doubt!

Here we come tothe most difficult stage. Because you have to change yourself. What didn't suit your partner or employer? Are you ready to look at yourself from the outside and not only admit mistakes, but also become exactly the way the “river” wants you to be? Will you perceive the new image as correct, truly yours? Only you can answer this question.

Yes, they say you can't step into the same river twice. So what? You can enjoy life more than once or twice, you need to be happy almost always (“almost” - circumstances are in no way dependent on a person, but there are so few of them, you see …).