One Can Never Step Foot in the Same Country Twice: The Illusion of Conquering Countries Through Travel

There's something odd about checking off a country on our to-do list when we recognize everything is constantly changing. What are we to make of this uncanny way of looking at the world?

Image generated using Canva from the prompt Heraclitus standing in a river.

“It is not possible to step twice into the same river according to Heraclitus, or to come into contact twice with a mortal being in the same state.”

-Plutarch

I have one of those world maps that allows you to scratch off each country after you’ve returned from your travels. No doub…