Panta Rhei
"Panta Rhei" translates to "Everything Flows". It is one of Heraclitus' philosophical concepts.
There is not much certain in life, apart from change. Everything flows. It is a curse and a blessing. We want to freeze the good moments and avoid the bad ones altogether. Unfortunately, without contrast, we cannot differentiate good from bad.
I had a rather rough week. We spent four days in the forest, I did not get the position I aspired to in the army, and the cherry on the cake is that I did not get home for the weekend. It stings, even though I know it will pass – Panta Rhei.
I am not the best at dealing with emotions, I tend to bottle up and it can overflow in high-stress scenarios. That being said I am learning – ventilation is helpful. It's simply putting into words the situation and trying to understand it. If we leave the situation up to our brain it will get overblown.
Be careful, ventilation is not the same as venting – complaining about a problem is not making it any better. Ventilation is taking apart the problem and trying to see it from different angles. At least, that is how I have gone about it and it has helped.
Ventilating can be done in written or spoken form. I have practised both. I try to as much as possible dissect my problems with family members or close friends in order to make them make sense. It can also be done alone in written form, that practice is more introspective but just as powerful.
On that note, do let me know if you have some techniques to deal with difficult times. Be it meditation, writing or yoga – what is your go-to?
This Week's Suggestions:
🎶"Back To Back (B2B)" by A Little Sound:
A Little Sound is one of my favourite drum and bass vocalists. This is her latest single. It is an absolute banger. It's the perfect tune for those autumn chai latte evenings.
This is a short film by students freshly out of high school. It is a very well-structured and clean-looking film with some smart quotes in between.
That's it for this cold Monday morning!