A Question of Time

I think it is interesting that ours is a culture that deals with time in such a linear sense. Some argue that it is our more wordly nature that makes us so inclined to see time in a straight line, that if we were more religious, our sense of time would be more circular.

I disagree with this belief. I think that even before we became a world of science, there was a sense of an end. After all, the calendar that we use today was developed by the church. It is meant to count to the end of days, and only a linear culture can have an end. I think that it is very interesting that we do not have a more cyclical calendar. Most people that I know would prefer the thought of a continual return to the same thing. Why shouldn't they? What is there to look forward to if everthing ends?

In fact, throughout history, people have sought to find ways to beat what they saw as the passing of time from alchemists attempting to find an elixir of life to the conquistador and explorer Juan Ponce de Leon looking for the fountain of youth in America. With a circular calendar, it becomes less pressing of a matter to survive eternally because that is essentially what you will do. Perhaps then, we should change our calendar so that it no longer includes years that continually get larger. Instead we should look to create a calendar that allows for the return of all things and by that become a less fast paced culture and more pressed with doing things right.