Rule of three
Over the last three weeks, three events occurred that seemingly have nothing to do with each other. But they have everything to do with each other, thanks to the rule of three. Here goes:
On October 26, a date that is important to me, I saw Eric LeGrand speak. Thirteen years ago, LeGrand was a 20-year-old Rutgers football player who suffered a severe spinal cord injury as a result of a freak accident during a game. He was left paralyzed. To date, I haven't written about the completely life-changing experience of hearing him speak because words fail me. He was absolutely gripping. I have thought of his talk every day since then.
Before his injury, LeGrand's motto was "bELieve," with the "E" and "L" capitalized to signify his initials. After his injury, he named his memoir and movement "Believe." In his talk, he explained that "Believe" is not a word, but a way of life. He explained that he wakes up with a smile on his face every day because he knows he has the ability to impact people. Wow... just wow.
Exactly two weeks later, I attended school conferences. At the meeting with my first grader's art teacher, she explained that the kids were learning about murals and affirmations and each picked an affirmation to illustrate. She flipped over a posterboard to reveal his choice: "Believe." My jaw dropped. How could he have picked the word that had been on repeat in my mind for the last two weeks? We never spoke about it at home, but there it was. He had drawn each letter in different-sized capital letters, with his name in smaller font in the background. It was amazing to see.
The next day, I attended my weekly physical therapy appointment. I was anxious to try new modalities to reduce the edema in my foot and ankle. My therapist recommended I check out Amanda Sobey, a woman about my age who has been living with lymphedema for nearly two decades and is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. At home that evening, I opened her grid on Instagram and my eyes immediately landed on a post a few rows down that made me gasp. The thumbnail's banner read: "What if all you had to do was BELIEVE?" The first line of the caption said: "What if this year's best is yet to come?" The post was dated October 23.
How could the same word, motto, and affirmation pop up three times in three weeks? Not to mention, in those particular contexts: from a motivational speaker who moved me to tears, from my young son, and from a fellow lymphedema patient. These are all areas I worry about: how am I doing as a speaker? Am I doing a good job as a parent? Will my lymphedema improve?
The word "believe" means "to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so." I choose to BELIEVE the answer to each question is yes. I choose to BELIEVE in the rule of three. After all, good things happen in threes and trios are typically more memorable or resonate. These three events are proof positive for me.
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