Same River Twice?

There was an ancient Greek philosopher, named Heraclitus, who stated, "No one steps into the same river twice." Referring to the state of flux in the universe, Heraclitus purported that everything was always changing and nothing was ever in stasis.

Life is like that, no? Everything is in a state of flux. One day you do this and that, and the next day, or even the next hour, the next second, this and that have already affected you, so that you can never be the same. Every word you hear or see or write changes who you are. In Newtonian physics, the principle is, "For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction."

My question, then, comes down to this. If I am always changing, where is my identity? Is it in the continuity of the change, is the ultimate end of the changes, or is there really no identity. Written on my mirror is this question, one worth answering, everyday, every time I see it - "In the end, what are we?"

Are we divine sparks, imbued with purpose? Are we clogs of dirt and microbes that grew and grew, mechanistically? Are we ideas in the mind of God? Are we God? Do we even exist? What are the consequences if we don't? What are the consequences if we do?

Everything is in a state of flux. And we do not step in the same river twice. What is the quintessence - the uniting factor of all this we see, we perceive? Is that fluxing?

In short, I do not know. I believe in something, and I have my doubts about those beliefs, but still I continue to align myself to the reality I perceive, discovering more and more of it. My beliefs, thoughts, dreams, hopes, passions and even my identity (if it exists outside those) are in flux. If in the end, we are just fluxing things, not imbued with purpose or dignity or anything metaphysical, I cannot think of any consequences. What would life be? I have no idea.

We are in flux. In this world of becoming, do we have an end? Is there even choice? But that is another question entirely. Oh, what tangle webs we weave, when we delve into philosophy. Ha! I rhymed, and I am done. Enough stasis here. Life calls. The next you see me, I will be different. The next time you see you, you will be different. Take a minute to stop and look at that reflection. Is that you? You may see the face looking back at you, as you look at a stranger.