Understanding connections.

Cultures that subscribe to cyclical time seek to understand linkages and connections. Links show the wholeness of life and allow contrasts or contradictions to exist. Cyclical cultures believe that logic is not linear (cause/effect), nor people-driven, but captures the unity of human experience with the whole of life, nature, and existence.

“The Masai, a nomadic culture of Kenya, do not compartmentalize time into minutes

and hours but instead schedule time by the rising and setting sun and the feeding of their

cattle. The typical Masai day begins just before sunrise, when the cattle go to the river

to drink. This period is called “the red blood period” because of the color of the

sunrise. The afternoon is “when the shadows lower themselves.” The evening begins

when “the cattle return from the river.” Seasons and months are determined by rainfall

—a particular month lasts as long as the rains continue and a new month doesn’t begin

until the rains have ceased.”

(Adapted from Neuliep, Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach)

Making decisions.

In cultures that subscribe to a cyclical view of time, business decisions are reached in a very different way. Decisions are not made quickly nor in isolation, purely on their present merits with scant reference to the past; decisions have a contextual background and are made long term. Unlike linear cultures which see time passing without decision or action as “wasted,” cyclical cultures see time coming around in a circle, again and again. The same opportunities will recur or re-present themselves when people are that many days, weeks, or months older and wiser. Many cyclical time cultures will not tackle problems or make decisions immediately in a structured, sequential manner; they will circle round them for a suitable period of reflection, contemplating the possible links between facts and relationships, before committing themselves.

Wise men are never in a hurry. (Chinese proverb)

A proposal without patience breaks its own heart. (Japanese proverb)

To know where you are going, look back to where you’ve come from. (Arab proverb)

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