Circling back to the beginning achieves a few things. (1) It reinforces first principles. (2) It offers an opportunity to revise them. (3) It is a benchmark against which to measure what you have gained since embarking on a journey. (4) It is an opportunity to set off on a different direction. Other themes of circling: - [[Nature as origin]] Of all the many definitions of nature, this is perhaps the one I am most drawn to. We value nature because it is where we come from. Perhaps discussed in Pierre Hadot's [[= The Veil of Isis]], but I can't be sure, since I haven't read it. - The nature of labyrinths. Circling back so that you are close to where you started, but never quite to the exact same spot. - Heraclitus' aphorism about never being able to step into the same river twice. - Sometimes I get more out of re-reading books than reading new ones. - Nietzsche's eternal recurrence is a form of circling