Heraclitus

I decided to write about Heraclitus because it seemed to be along the same viewpoints as most of the other readings I previously wrote about. The idea that God is within us, “The way to God is the way through the self.” I also like how they kept it simple but meaningful. Even though each line was only a sentence long, each sentence held thoughtful ideas. For example “Opposition brings together, and from discord comes perfect harmony.” To me this is the equivalent to opposites attract, the yen yang symbol, you must have both to have complete harmony and peace because one can not exist without the other. One of my other favorite statements was “You can’t step twice into the same river.” This is completely true and it brings to surface the idea that everything is changing even though we may not be able to see it. Even the river is not the same because there is new water coming in and it is carrying new things, it may be slowly changing direction, it may be getting wider or smaller, and we have no natural control over it. Another line I enjoyed was “To men, some things are good and some are bad. But to God, all things are good and beautiful and just.” I believe this is referring to Gods willingness to forgive and to forget, also to the fact that he looks for and at only the good, pure, and beautiful parts of everything. I also enjoyed the last line but more from a scientific viewpoint then a religious one; “The way up and the way down are one and the same.” I look at this in a way that since the world is round there is no up and down because what we call up others call down and what we call down others call up, meaning the direction not the name. I guess this can go back to what Jason said in class about a pen having a different name and the name not giving it is identity but only its actions giving it its identity.