23

I don't believe we should let our lives be ruled by superstition and numerology.  But I do think it's kinda fun to indulge in a little healthy pattern-finding now and again.  I have found the number 23 appear time and again in my life, so now I guess I look for it; I call it my favorite number.

I think the romance with 23 began with a basketball player that shared my name, sort of.  Michael Jordan is the name I quoted when people couldn't pick up my first name the first time.  "You know, Jordan like Michael Jordan."  Jordan wore 23 on his jersey.

When I moved to Seattle, I was turning 23 and looking for a car.  I ended up getting an Audi and the guy who sold it to me pointed out, as perhaps I wouldn't have noticed, that the license plate was 230-MSM and I was turning 23 and working for MS (Microsoft).  So that was easy to remember.

My last house was on 23rd Avenue and now I live in apartment #23.

My next car ended up with the license plate of 460... which is twice 230.  My height in inches is 69, which is three 23's, as is my mass, 69kg.

And that's it so far until the next coincidence finds me.

Religion as an index into psyche

The stories of the bible are mnemonic, a memory device, a framework for which we can apply an understanding of our personal lives.  In acrobatics a few weeks ago, Athena said that she can relate many of her experiences back to something she learned or understands through acrobatics.  And in that way she can communicate to acrobats about her experience using a shared understanding.  In terms of religion and the associated shared mythology and culture, they can relate emotional, spiritual, physical, and social problems and solutions back to a shared understanding.  So that when someone says, "I was hurt when you did this that way," he can follow with, "I felt like Cain when he went over to blah and this dude did this thing to him."   [My Bible knowledge is somewhat limited]  That shared understanding allows everyone to be on the same framework.  It's a shortcut, an index into the psyche.