I\u2019ve heard people say that \u201cthings happen in 3s.\u201d If you\u2019ve read this blog over the years, you\u2019ve figured out that my favorite number is 3 \u2014 or at least some variation of it like 30 or 33. But 3 is an interesting number and even though it isn\u2019t specifically mentioned, lots of things wouldn\u2019t be complete if it wasn\u2019t for 3…like, for instance, the past, present and future. That seems complete with three \u2014 if you just said, present and future… what happened before? Past and present begs to know what\u2019s next and if there is just past and future, what about now? You need all three to make it complete. Same thing for beginning, middle and end. I think I\u2019ve heard somewhere that three is actually considered the number of completion.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of things we just automatically associate the number 3 with, like 3 strikes and you\u2019re out, a 3 ring circus, the 3 little pigs, the 3 stooges, 3 coins in a fountain, etc.<\/p>\n
But a lot of our phrases and terms that we use all the time are made of of threes\u2026
\nLike \u2014 faith, hope and charity; the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; rock, paper, scissors; the good, the bad and the ugly; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; small, medium and large; on your mark, get set, go; hear no evil, see no evil, speak evil; of the people, for the people, by the people; ready aim, fire and so it goes.<\/p>\n
The number 3 is used in the Bible 467 times \u2014 obviously there\u2019s the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but there were the Three Wise Men who brought three gifts \u2014 gold, frankincense and myrrh. As for those 467 Bible references to 3\u2026 I\u2019ll leave that as an exercise for the reader to check out.<\/p>\n
Three is the first number that can mean a few or many\u2026 1 is only a single, 2 is a couple, but when you get to 3, you can start using \u201cfew\u201d or \u201cmany\u201d and of course 3 is the \u201cleast\u201d of few or many. You need at least 3 legs to make a table that will stand by itself. There are 3 primary colors from which you can make the other colors. Under Muslim law, a man can divorce his wife by repeating the phrase \u201cI divorce thee\u201d 3 times, and if you catch a Leprechaun and set him free, the Leprechaun will grant you 3 wishes.<\/p>\n
I heard a country singer (I don\u2019t remember which one) once say, \u201cto succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone,a backbone and a funny bone.\u201d And Casey Stengel said, \u201cthree things can happen in a baseball game – you can win or you can lose, or it can rain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since we\u2019re now in the home stretch of appointing a new Supreme Court Justice, I think a quote by Ruth Ginsburg is worth pondering: \u201cWe have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three<\/em> little words, \u201cWe, the people\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve heard people say that \u201cthings happen in 3s.\u201d If you\u2019ve read this blog over the years, you\u2019ve figured out that my favorite number is 3 \u2014 or at least some variation of it like 30 or 33. But 3 … Continue reading
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n