All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that.

—Balthasar Gracian

So began our essay, Flavors of Time by Dean Buonomano.  We awaken to consciousness upon birth, a consciousness that increases with the mastery of motor skills and then of language.  Observe a child over the year or so of the toddler stage to that of a young student.  Language is the multipurpose tool for discovery and utilization of his/her place in society.  And thus begins what is called education.  As education continues ideally without end, the human being continues to grow in awareness.  There is no good reason that one not be a life-long learner.

It’s as if we awaken to find ourselves in space-time, ourselves the immediate example of being a body in space and in time.  Let the exploration begin!  Why not?  Life is limited, bounded by a “time” when we were not, and sadly bounded by a “time” when we will cease to exist.  The candle flame is extinguished as a Buddhist would say.

The discovery of ourselves and of everything else is analogous to a child at play in a sand box.  While inside of the box there are toys (tools) with which one can make of space and time wonderful sandcastles, frog houses, and other make-believe creations to stimulate the imagination.

So this morning I find myself thinking of the ways that we play with time.  On a winter day its 14 degrees outside with a gentle snow fall.  My cup of Starbucks coffee feels warm, viscerally comforting.  If I think about it I am reminded of my link to the farmer in South America who harvested the beans that are roasted, from which the flavored beverage in my cup is derived.  I am certainly linked to the baristas here who prepared my morning cup of coffee.  They live close at hand, my neighbors.

These considerations have to do with time and the links that exist within the space-time continuum. Holding a warm cup of coffee evokes a pattern that reaches globally in many directions.  You and I are segments of a living web that is rooted in the earth, rhizome like.  This manner of thinking is not unlike the Buddhist tradition that insists that time is illusory, fundamentally unreal, and that everything is eternally linked.  We are connected, no matter how disconnected we may happen to feel.  The concept exceeds my understanding, but it has a ring of truth.  This is one form of play with time.

And one can take “time out” to mindfully, quietly play any where, any time.

Another form of play with time that I have mentioned before is drag racing.  Nothing smells better at the beginning of race day than the aroma of nitro methane fumes as the fuel cars are being warmed up on a Sunday morning.  Drag racing is a game.  The rules have to do with reaching the end of a quarter-mile strip of asphalt in the shortest possible time.  The quickest car takes the trophy.  This is a testosterone infused primal game.  Not that females are not ferocious competitors.  Some have become legends by their ability to cut a quick light, and out drive the male competitor in the next lane over.  Drag racing is a game that one plays with others.  Sponsors who agree to help with the expense, in exchange for advertising benefit; the half-dozen or so crew members who know the workings of the motor and car better than they know themselves; the driver, that adrenaline junkie who happily risks his/her life for the unspeakable thrill, etc.  Words are inadequate…….

It is a life changing experience to stand at the starting line, as a race car motor burning nitro methane hits the clutch with 10,000 horsepower, to hook the asphalt, launching the car.  To stand at the starting line when a car launches is to feel that one is hugged by a thunder-clap.  Ear protection is not optional.

This is also playing with time, in a direct manner.  Not a game for the faint-hearted.

If you are curious to see more of this form of time-play, this 2 minute YOUTUBE VIDEO  shows a fuel car under test and tune conditions.  After each run the motor is taken apart for inspection, spark plugs are replaced, the clutch pack is disassembled and reset…  And in about an hour and a half later, the car is ready for the next round of racing.

Wanna play?