Time 🗞️ Slow News Day #18

Hey,

I’m not too sure what time looks like; its form or function.

Why do our clocks tick in circles, but our calendars never come back to square one?

Is each inward and outward breath a unique process, or one repetition of a constant cycle?

When you lay a year out on paper, do you see a horizontal line? Is it a circle? A square in quadrants?

One of the most comforting thoughts I return to is the idea of seasonality and circularity. That very few of our ‘ends’ are ends, that they’re more like turns in a great circle. When long-term relationships have ended, I’ve found peace in the idea that a straight line hadn’t been severed, but that a circle with its own polarities was coming round to its next revolution.

Every ending is its own beginning, back to the top of the circle and ready to keep turning. Look at plants — growing from the soil, nurtured and fed by their substrate before falling back into it and continuing the cycle for the next generation.

I’ve been reading about linear vs. circular time recently. It came up in therapy (yep, that again!) a month or so ago and it’s a great summary of the things I’ve felt but never quite been able to express.

I’m not going to push one belief or another; there are arguments in every direction.

Time is linear.

Time is circular.

Time isn’t really either.

I just think it’s a fascinating question: what does your time look like? If you had to draw a year, how would you present it?

When push comes to shove, my instinct would be to go linear. I’m trying to think more circularly, though.

Slow down guide

Need a little help moving slower?

Ease your way out of Friday afternoon with this newsletter, a nice cup of something, and a little background music. Steal my setup if you aren't sure where to start.

After I press send, I’ll be brewing a cup of Café Ortega’s organic roast. It’s a Canarian roastery, I found it in HiperDino, and that’s about all I can say. I haven’t tried it yet, so you can expect a full report next week. Sorry to keep you waiting — but a little dawdle never killed anyone, eh?

And as we’re giving new things a go, I’d recommend listening to Nathan Ball’s latest single Wild Winds. Nathan’s a regular on my playlists and his music seems to chime with the life I want to live. Breezy, coastal, enthusiastic, thoughtful, and joyous.

Take it easy,