Panta Rei- everything flows

Life is just the endless flow of things in time. Everything comes and goes in an endless stream of thoughts and emotions. Nothing is permanent. Everything changes from moment to moment. The good and the bad, the pleasure and the pain, fame and shame – all come and go. Every experience you ever had is over. Every thought, every wish, every mood and emotion passes. You have had every emotion possible – guilt, sadness, jealousy, anger, pride and shame. Where did they go? They just passed in an endless stream of what we call LIFE. Acknowledging that can be liberating. Where are they? They are just gone, like leaves falling on the ground and scattered by the wind.

It is very helpful to know that the awareness that life is just the one thing after the other, one present moment followed by another present moment. Just gone. The ancient Greeks realized this. They saw life like the flow of a river. Every moment the stream takes a new turn, forcing everything in its way on a journey to the sea, when everything is carried along and is spewed into an endless ocean, deposited on the ocean floor.

One generation follows the next, each generation pushing the previous one along in an endless and relentless flow of time. Our children grow up and we grow old, pushing, pushing, pushing. And where does it leave us? The liberating idea is that life is just a flow, one generation pushing the next along, building on the wisdom or folly of the previous. And so life continues in an endless cycle of being born, living and dying.

Now what is liberating about that? Maybe it can help you to imagine that the circumstances you are dealing with now aren't happening right now but a year from now. Then simply ask yourself: “Is this really such a big deal? “ In most cases it is not such a big thing as you are imagining it to be right now.  Whether it is an argument with your spouse, child or boss, a mistake, a lost opportunity, a failure at work – chances are that, a year from now you are not going to care. It may be one more irrelevant detail in your life. While this simple game won’t solve all your problems, it may give you a lot of perspective. It may cause you not to take things too seriously.

Life is happening now, yes, that we cannot deny. But sometimes it may be a good thing if we project ourselves into the future and ask ourselves: “How would I feel about this thing in a year’s time? Will it still be such a big deal? Is it really so important”? 

Maybe it will just give you the perspective that this “big thing” is just another snap shot of the countless little hassles of daily life, which will pass in time and which you will just reflect upon later and decide: “It passed. It is gone- just one more notch on my guitar”.

Life is indeed happening right now. But try to gain some perspective. When faced with a problem you are dealing with now, and ask yourself: “How will I feel about this in a year’s time?” And then decide: “Is it really that important? Is it worth the agony? Or will it only pass, like everything else in life”?

Nico Roos is a local clinical psychologist and author of popular psychology books. He can be contacted at nicopsych@gmail.com