The Flowing Rivers of Change

Heraclitus of Ephesus is reported to have written in his work entitled ‘Of Nature’ [500 BCE]: "Ever-newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers."

It is often posited that Heraclitus was expressing the idea that although the endeavor or action might not be the first time in which it is engaged; the specific experience is, in fact, unique. The water is invariably different, the sea-life - also different, the plant life changed.

Each experience is in a sense, new, and unique. 

Ironically, Heraclitus’ expression has morphed over the centuries. Perhaps as a representation of the reality of the construct itself.

Change.

Today, we understand his expression to be: ‘The only constant is change.’

And, if I may be so bold to add to it...And change can be… O.K.

Change exists all around us. All the time. And, yet it often goes unnoticed. If we consume a breakfast sandwich on Monday morning and eggs for breakfast on Tuesday, we have consumed breakfast, yet our breakfast has changed.  Should we text a friend this evening, and the next interaction is in person, we have still engaged with our friend, yet the engagements are inherently different.

It is quite evident that sages for thousands of years have sought to understand the challenges with change. With transition. With newness.

Perhaps it is because for thousands of years we humans have struggled with change – with transition. And it kind of makes sense.

Change can be incredibly uncomfortable!

Change, or transition, is borne out of stepping outside our individual comfort zones. The unknown. The uncertainty. That sense of loss of control.

The termination from a job. The divorce. The loss of a pet. Retirement. Children leaving the home. Family estrangement.

All represent change. All represent transition.

But this change, this transition is different. This is the choice we did not seek to make.

It is transition borne from grief. The navigation of the difference between the situation we are in, and the situation we wish to be in.

For Heraclitus, life and death are inextricably connected to one another, and that death represented the shifting of the soul. Another transition. For him, not tragic… transition. Another marker of the reality that the only constant is change. We are born. We live, and then we die.

How we choose to live through daily transitions and changes is what gives our lives meaning. Perhaps, it is not about the focus on the fear of the transition, rather the experiencing of it. Perhaps, it is about the recognition of the gift of now, rather than the concern for the uncertainty of tomorrow.

Presence. Sitting in the now. Being comfortably uncomfortable.

Observing with our senses, as well as our gratitude mind, allowing the fear of the unknown in the future to remain there - in the future.

Because ironically again, remaining present, in a place of gratitude, can also be a change. And perhaps, one which provides us to breathe a little fuller, see a little clearer, and live a little more purposefully.

© 2026: Donna J Clarke/Integrative Pathways Counseling, LLC. All rights reserved.