Inside Time: My Dialogue with the Clock Towers of the World

I remember one quiet morning in Prague — you know, before the tourists flooded in — standing beneath the Astronomical Clock. The tower was waking up slowly, beginning to “speak” with deep, echoing chimes. And something hit me: this wasn’t just a mechanism. It was a voice of the centuries. A heartbeat of time that doesn’t rush. I stood there, holding a warm cup of coffee, realizing that for the past few years, I’d been living like a second hand — twitching, darting, chasing. But these towers… they move slowly. It’s as if they were saying: “Hey, Mark. Breathe. Everything will come — on schedule.”

In London, I climbed inside Big Ben for the first time. The air smelled of metal, old oil, and rain trapped in the stone. And yes, despite the digital age, those gears still spin. Watching them, I saw a metaphor for life: we’re all parts of a great mechanism. But not for labor — for rhythm. Some are cogs, some are axles, some just tiny screws — but without them, it all falls apart. And here’s the magic: no one ticks the same. Nor should they.

On Sicily, I found a tower with no clock at all. Just an old bell tower wrapped in ivy. Locals told me it still "knows the time." The bell rings only when it matters — on holidays, or when someone is born or dies. It’s not a metronome, it’s a ritual. And there's something wild and ancient in that. As if time there isn’t linear, but circular. No deadlines, no alarms. I turned off my phone for the first time in ages. Just sat. Waited for the bell. It didn’t ring — maybe it wasn’t my time. Beautiful, right?

What I learned is that these towers aren’t about precision — they’re about persistence. They keep ticking through wars, power shifts, Wi-Fi. And next to them, you don’t feel urgency — you feel reassurance. I often tell myself: nuota contro corrente — swim against the current. And the towers seem to answer: “Swim, yes. But don’t rush.” Everyone has their own time zone. And if you’re out of sync with the world right now, that’s okay. Maybe you’re just on a different clock. Just don’t stop.