--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The river of life divides into two…" description: "\"“The river of life divides into two branches: being and formulating.”\" — Anaïs Nin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/anais-nin-288_life_the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branc_2475068.png" --- # The river of life divides into two branches: being and… ![“The river of life divides into two branches: being and formulating.” quote by Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/anais-nin-288_life_the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branc_2475068.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/anais-nin-288_life_the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branc_2475068.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/anais-nin-288_life_the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branc_2475068.png) > ““The river of life divides into two branches: being and formulating.”” [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life splits into two currents: existence itself and the mental narratives we construct. **In simple terms:** Life has being and thought streams. Key Takeaway Balance experience with reflection. Themes existence thought duality Mood contemplative poetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - mindfulness practice - creative writing - decision making Key Concepts philosophy psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience “being” versus “thinking”? - Can you let go of mental narratives? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on thought can detach from reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ## Related quotes > [“Mankind lives by its head Its head won't see him through Inspect your own. What lives off that? At most a louse or two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/mankind-lives-by-its-head-its-head-won-t-see-him-through-inspect-your/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/friendship-multiplies-the-good-of-life-and-divides-the-evil/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Life divides into amazing enjoyable times and appalling experiences that will make future amazing anecdotes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/life-divides-into-amazing-enjoyable-times-and-appalling-experiences/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [My life divides into three parts. In the first I was wretched; in the second ill at ease; in the third hunting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/my-life-divides-into-three-parts-in-the-first-i-was-wretched-in-the/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“That was the trouble with formulating a system: what could you do but repeat it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-washington/that-was-the-trouble-with-formulating-a-system-what-could-you-do-but/) Peter Washington > [Form is all we have to help us cope with fundamentally chaotic facts and assaults. Formulating something is a great start. I trust form,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/form-is-all-we-have-to-help-us-cope-with-fundamentally-chaotic-facts/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Formulating the proposal is about 80% of the actual time of the process. In the end, the time spent filming, editing and postproduction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alys/formulating-the-proposal-is-about-80-of-the-actual-time-of-the/) [Francis Alys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alys/) > [Words, yes, formulating things, creating something from your heart, it is something very necessary, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-marceau/words-yes-formulating-things-creating-something-from-your-heart-it-is/) [Sophie Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-marceau/) > [Although none of the rules for becoming more alive is valid, it is healthy to keep on formulating them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/although-none-of-the-rules-for-becoming-more-alive-is-valid-it-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We have the duty of formulating, of summarizing, and of communicating our conclusions, in intelligible form, in recognition of the right of other free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-fisher/we-have-the-duty-of-formulating-of-summarizing-and-of-communicating/) [Ronald Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-fisher/) > [I was also interested in formulating the path of chemical reactions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenichi-fukui/i-was-also-interested-in-formulating-the-path-of-chemical-reactions/) [Kenichi Fukui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenichi-fukui/) > [“You are right to demand that an author be conscious of what he is doing, but you are confusing two concepts: solving the problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/you-are-right-to-demand-that-an-author-be-conscious-of-what-he-is/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [It's in an inland sea that the river of my life ended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/it-s-in-an-inland-sea-that-the-river-of-my-life-ended/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“We are all in the same boat, boat of life. Does not seem to be a rudder with oarsman. Perhaps my words may find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trabold/we-are-all-in-the-same-boat-boat-of-life-does-not-seem-to-be-a-rudder/) [Robert Trabold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trabold/) > [“O boatman! Enjoy your skills and touch the river of life in your own unique ways. She will reward you with the treasures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunya/o-boatman-enjoy-your-skills-and-touch-the-river-of-life-in-your-own/) [Shunya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunya/) ## More by Anaïs Nin > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“…For love it is never the same. What goes on inside is never the same just like this music which changes every instant. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/for-love-it-is-never-the-same-what-goes-on-inside-is-never-the-same/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I have so strong a sense of creation, of tomorrow, that I cannot get drunk, knowing I will be less alive, less well, less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-have-so-strong-a-sense-of-creation-of-tomorrow-that-i-cannot-get/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [We don't have a language for the senses. Feelings are images, sensations are like musical sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-don-t-have-a-language-for-the-senses-feelings-are-images/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Strange, isn't it, that no chemical will give a human being the iridescence that illusions have given them? Give me your hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/strange-isn-t-it-that-no-chemical-will-give-a-human-being-the/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The personal, if it is deep enough, becomes universal, mythical, symbolic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-personal-if-it-is-deep-enough-becomes-universal-mythical-symbolic/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Introspection is a devouring monster. You have to feed it with much material, much experience, many people, many places, many loves, many creations, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/introspection-is-a-devouring-monster-you-have-to-feed-it-with-much/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [In each studio there is a human being dressed in the full regalia of his myth fearing to expore a vulnerable opening, spreading not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-each-studio-there-is-a-human-being-dressed-in-the-full-regalia-of/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I don't mind working, holding my ground intellectually, artistically; but as a woman, oh, God, as a woman I want to be dominated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-don-t-mind-working-holding-my-ground-intellectually-artistically/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“Laughter and tears are not separate experiences, with intervals of rest: they rush out together and it is like walking with a sword between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/laughter-and-tears-are-not-separate-experiences-with-intervals-of/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The basis of insincerity is the idealized image we hold of ourselves and wish to impose on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-basis-of-insincerity-is-the-idealized-image-we-hold-of-ourselves/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I write emotional algebra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-write-emotional-algebra/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say. Most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-role-of-the-writer-is-not-to-say-what-we-can-all-say-but-what-we/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I say quotations are literary. They are good only when dealing with ideas, not with experience. Experience should be pure, unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-say-quotations-are-literary-they-are-good-only-when-dealing-with/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) [Explore all 715 Anaïs Nin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The river of life divides into two branches: being and formulating.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anaïs Nin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branches-being-and-formulating/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branches-being-and-formulating/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/anais-nin-288_life_the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branc_2475068.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/anais-nin-288_life_the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branc_2475068.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/anais-nin-288_life_the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branc_2475068.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The river of life divides into two branches: being and formulating.” — Anaïs Nin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anaïs Nin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The river of life divides into...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branches-being-and-formulating/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-river-of-life-divides-into-two-branches-being-and-formulating/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```