Tao Bible - Isaiah 44:6

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
~ King James version ~

Tao in the world is like a river flowing home to the sea.
~ from Verse 32 of the Tao Te Ching ~

I've highlighted these two passages to illustrate the different conceptions of "time." From the Christian perspective, time is linear with a definite start and end point as signified with God being the first and the last.

For the Taoist, time is circular. The water in the river flows to the sea where it evaporates and its essence ascends to the atmosphere. It re-forms in clouds and falls to the earth as rain...which finds its way into streams (like rivers) that flow to the sea -- a perpetual cycle.

If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.