04/12/2026
๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ โฑ๏ธ
Itโs the loss of cultural heritage, traditions and ritual that has let time run off like a speeding train. Byung Chul-Han argues that โlife is no longer embedded in any ordering structures,โ and without ordering structure, time becomes directionless, and uncontrolled.
This helps illustrate the modern feeling of constantly rushing, struggling to catch up, and living at the ends of our noses. Some may think themselves โtime-blind,โ uniquely unable to keep track of time, but they may also just be experiencing what we all are: a lack of order.
Ritualsโbe they spiritual or of the daily varietyโcan create structure within time, like touchstones across a river that allow us to keep track of ourselves while crossing.
There are daily touchstones like feeding the animals, reading, journaling, finishing the crossword, or prayer. But there are also seasonal observations like national or cultural holidays, annual celebrations or events, birthdays, phases of the sun and moon.
Each of these points is fixed in time and provides a reminder of where we are in the river, so to speak. The more of these touchstones we have, the more manageable time becomes.
Through the practice of keeping time via ritual or observance, patterns will arise, conscious and not, that allow life to become more predictive and reliable, bringing faith and ease where once there was faceless anxiety.
Excerpt from our monthly newsletter on Substack
Image: Christian Marclay, The Collective Rhythm of Time
