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Our culture fears getting older. But there is a different way of thinking about the passing of time

22 0
17.07.2026

The compost-grown cherry tomatoes, sitting in a basket on my windowsill, are ripening: little bubbles of brightness in this deep winter fog. As I type, at 7:30am, there is a wide brushstroke of fuchsia glowing over the highest peak to the east; otherwise my surroundings are soaked in cornflower blue mist.

I’m thinking of time. What time do you have? Are you reading this on your phone on a train, on the commute to work? On the sofa at home, enjoying a cuppa? By time, what I’m really thinking about is the texture of time. Here in countries touched by the combination of the English language and colonial imperialism, time has become a commodity. Here, we often unconsciously keep Chronos time, where the echo of “chronological” will sound familiar.

Today, I invite you to sift through the pink-red mist and consider other types of time: in particular, Kairos.

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For those familiar with ancient Greek, you will know that Kairos time has........

© The Guardian