The River of Life

"We are rather like whirlpools in the river of life.  In
flowing forward, a river or stream may hit rocks, branches, or irregularities in the ground, causing whirlpools to spring up spontaneously here and there.  Water entering one whirlpool quickly passes through and rejoins the river, eventually moving on.
Though for short periods it seems to be distinguishable as a separate event, the water in the whirlpool is just the river itself.  The stability of a whirlpool is only temporary.  The energy of the river of life forms living things - a human being, a cat or dog, trees and plants, then what held the whirlpool in its place is itself, altered, and the whirlpool is swept away, re-entering the larger flow.  The energy that was a particular whirlpool fades out and the water passes on, perhaps to be caught again and turned for a moment into another whirlpool."

Source:
~Charlotte Joko Beck~
  ~Nothing Special~