“Numbers rule the universe.” So believed Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, who lived centuries before the birth of Christ.
A few centuries later, fellow Greek thinker Proclus thought “Wherever there is number, there is beauty.”
Nearly two millennium later American writer Nathanael West observed “Numbers constitute the only universal language.”
Numbers comprise a significant part of our daily lives. Have for our entire lives. They dictate when we got early vaccinations. When we entered school. When we were allowed to drive. When we were tall enough to ride certain amusement park offerings.
Numbers dictated when and what we could see in theatres. What we could drink in public venues. When we could buy certain products. When we could operate motor vehicles commercially on public roads and highways.
Not only privileges, but numbers brought responsibilities. Like registering for selective service in our country. Registering for and then participating in public elections. When we could marry.
Numbers dictate what we owe the government in taxes. On what we earn. What we purchase. What we already own.
Numbers dictate when we are eligible to retire. And what we then get back after years of putting in.
Some numbers are more personal. Blood sugar. Cholesterol. Both the “Good” and “Bad” kinds. Weight. Height. Our “BMI” or Body Mass Index. A ratio of those earlier two measurements.
Some are downright scary. White-cell counts. Blood oxygen levels. Heart rates and blood pressures. Our systolic number, the pressure being exerted when our heart beats. The top number. The diastolic, the pressure in our arteries between beats. The bottom number.
I have someone dear to me now struggling with those BP numbers. Seems any kind of exertion in the heat and he is at the minimums. Eighties over fifties kind of numbers.
Another who when he just sits up in bed his blood oxygen falls in the low eighty-percents. Several friends battling cancers and struggling with all sorts of complicated numbers.
Milligrams and cubic-centimeters of medicines. “Gray” numbers that denote the joule of energy absorbed per kilogram of human tissue.
Mortality rates. Survival rates. Insurance rates. Home health care costs. “Aftermath” expenses! It can become overwhelming. Often does. Financially. Physically. Emotionally. Even spiritually.
And in these later realms is where the math gets tricky. Much more difficult. Much harder “…to figure.”
How do you place numbers on “peace of mind.” Happiness. Regrets. Sorrows. Joys. Etc.
Numbers can help. We know we “…are but a vapor.”
The rest of today is not promised. But, say we have another ten years. That is roughly five-hundred Sundays to not forsake the assembly. To gather with friends and family and worship our Lord.
Ten more seasons of giving. Springs to plant. Falls to harvest. Summers to swim and fish. Ten more birthdays we can celebrate this blessing of life we have been given. Even with sometimes catastrophic challenges.
Five-hundred weeks we have to brighten the paths of our fellow man. Three-thousand six-hundred and fifty days to share a smile. Lighten another’s load. Remember our blessings, which have been many, and try to pay a few forward.
Plato, another Greek philosopher, recognized “A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” We are told that our days “…are numbered…” so that we can gain wisdom.
Our lives are full of numbers, yes. Certainly. But they are filled with so much more. So very much more. Including opportunity to do good. To be good.
Numbers are in the universe. No doubt. He rules it. And He has made a place for us.
(Rick Mansfield can be reached at emansfield2004@yahoo.com.)
