I recall an analogical extension that came to me many years ago, which is based on well known aphorism "you can't unscramble a scrambled egg".
Breaking an egg occurs in stages.
The first stage is when the egg shell is cracked a little. At this point, the egg can be kept intact - just. You also need to be really carefull not to spill egg white.
During the next stage- when the egg is split and the yoke and white spill out, although you still have the intact pieces (white and yoke), you no longer have an intact egg. Moreover, the original unity of the two is broken.
Once the yoke and white separate, you move into the next phase, which is when the yoke is broken. By this stage, neither the egg nor the yoke is even distinct.
The only way to integrate the spilled and spoilt elements of yoke and white is to move into the last stage of scrambling. However, once done, you can't unscramble the egg.
Life is in many ways much like this. We first have intact wholes, which can stand some damage, and even after breaking, the elements can remain distinct. However, eventually, the course of damage cannot be reversed.
Life is also in many ways like an egg - a whole, constitued of elements.
We need to:
- value the intactness of the whole
- recognise cracks and guard against further damage
- rescue what remains of the spill
- accept what can't be undone