Cyclical Time and the Dissolution of Self

While Western thought treats time as linear progress toward death, Taoism sees cycles: birth-growth-decay-death as one rotation, followed by renewal. This cyclical vision transforms memento mori from a linear countdown to a participatory rhythm. You are not a separate entity progressing toward oblivion but a temporary arrangement of energy within an eternal circulation. Your 'self'—that thing you desperately protect—is already dissolving and reforming every moment. Laozi taught that clinging to the illusion of a permanent, bounded self is the root of suffering. When you truly internalize cyclical time, death becomes not an ending but a natural transformation. You return to the undifferentiated energy from which you emerged. This isn't morbid dissolution but profound belonging. You're not losing yourself; you're recognizing you were never as separate as you imagined.