Like a net in a river

I like metaphors as ways of thinking through things. And I like nature ones especially as they feel (ahem) earthy, and they (perhaps unsurprisingly) already have a lot of the qualities I want to think through (like unity, complexity, boundarylessness, flow). So here’s one.

Being an embodied human (consciousness) is like being a net in a river.

• Some stuff gets stuck in the net. It can’t be helped. That’s just what nets are like.
  • The net doesn’t try and stop the river. Or complain when things get stuck in it.
  • Or when it bulges out when the river’s flow is strong after a deluge. It just adjusts its shape as needed. Including when the river calms back down.
• But the river flows through the net. In fact it mostly flows through the net. That’s just what nets are like.
• Eventually the net wears out, comes lose, and gets washed away.

Background

All matter is swirls of degrees of consciousness.

• Like eddies in a river.
• Life is consciousness that’s more concentrated.

Added 2024-12-24.