The Cycles that Sustain Us

Linear & Cyclical Time

The notion that time happens in a linear way, from past to present to future, is relatively new in human thought, and is most common in western cultures, where time is also seen as measurable, usually in dollars. In industrialised societies, time is precious, it’s a commodity, something that you can “run out of.” When a linear view is applied to time, there is a beginning and an end to things, hence why it feels scarce. In the east, however, time is often seen as never-ending. It is abundant. This derives from a more cyclical conception of time, which emphasises repetition, and is influenced by the cycles that happen in the