The clock keeps the same pace through boredom and catastrophe, which is why it can feel so indifferent.

The clock’s indifference is exactly what makes it feel cruel. It moves at the same rate through the worst hour of your life and through an afternoon you will never recall, because it is measuring something that has nothing to do with meaning. What feels like coldness is only an instrument doing the single job it has.

When time feels unfairly steady, it can help to stop asking it to reflect what is happening. Let the clock be a tool rather than a judge. Mark the significance yourself in the ways that are available: a note, a call, a pause you choose. Meaning has to be supplied by people, and the instrument was never going to do it for you.