Everything flows.
- Heraclitus.
The above quote explains that everything in nature flows; nothing in the world of nature is stagnant. When we say "flows," it means it is not static and hence impermanent, changing from what it had been earlier to what it is in the present moment. But the greatest paradox of human nature is its inherent liking for things that do not change with time, never realising the most fundamental aspect of impermanence: that we ultimately have to die someday, the most certain and inescapable truth of life.
We tend to stick to or hold on to whatever is to our liking and let go of only what we don't like. By so doing, we get physically and emotionally attached to things, people, events, or ideas that appeal to us. But what we are holding on to—our liking—will obviously not remain unchanged with time. People are not consciously aware of this, and so it causes them to attach themselves to things, which leads to all suffering. Attachment is, in fact, the beginning of suffering. The opposite of it is non-attachment, or to put it another way, "letting go" without holding on. Practising this outlook is the beginning of the end of suffering. But this cannot happen as easily as one might think. This is because emerging from a conditioned mental state by changing the paradigm requires sustained conscious effort to let go of attachment to anything.
Everything in nature is transient; impermanence is the basic tenet by which nature functions as its driving parameter. Through time, everything flows, which brings about change in the process by which events occur. Along with this, a change in human perception happens, which drives the mind accordingly. Furthermore, this is accompanied by cognitive ability and emotions that together bring about comprehension of the whole scenario, culminating in the ultimate human reaction of acceptance or rejection of the whole process. The ability to consciously accept change by aligning with it emotionally brings harmony with the change, thus preventing suffering. Every situation in life changes with time. This is a phenomenon that is not difficult to notice, and with this, cognitive acceptance must happen to bring about a change in mindset.
