I have never thought about time so much as during this reading, it introduced me to concepts I had never considered such as

• the fact that the “end  of time” is a contradictory thought when examined through a Christian lens because if God still exists then there must be things happening and if things happen then time must still be present
• cyclical time is misleading because it simplifies the accrual of experiences and identities over time into a constant restart
• deeper divine time

Although these things were important to consider, nothing stood out more to me than the fact that this cyclical calendar assumed no end, especially with the addition of the Long Count calendar that could run for infinity essentially. McLeod does mention  that the Aztecs in particular were wary of the sun disappearing and attempted to keep it alive through ritual sacrifice, but they still believed that time would go on.

This is in contrast to what I know about other mythologies/cultural beliefs. I know the Norse believed in Ragnarok, the end of the world when everyone would die which  begins with a serpent devouring the sun and ends with a massive battle that destroys everything (now that I think about it though, that myth ends with two new humans sticking around afterwards but that could be remnants of the influence of Christianity and them trying to assimilate others into their religion). And I am pretty sure the ancient Egyptians also had some beliefs that the sun would be eaten and the world would end.

Until I had to write it all out just now, I never connected how central the sun is to separate cultures, they don’t all worship it in the same way but there was always that underlying fear that it would suddenly vanish and then life would be over. It was just a matter of who thought in a more linear way that decided if time would go on, (the Norse following Western ways of thinking more linear and Aztecs more cyclical)