Life of Pi(e)
Today’s blog post is brought to you by… Pie. Or… Pi.
Both, really.
See, as I looked at my calendar, I realized that the day on which this post is scheduled to be published is March 14th. 3/14. Otherwise known (maybe just among certain circles…) as Pi day.
Pi is a mathematical constant representing the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi is also an irrational number, meaning its decimal is both non-repeating and never ending. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Pi has been calculated out to 62.8 trillion digits, though scientists and mathematicians know that, in truth, it is infinite. Most of us, though, for ease of use, and to bring me back to my original train of thought, use just the first few digits - 3.14.
A common way of celebrating Pi Day is, as my opening line may have hinted, with pie. It’s both a play on words (hello, homonyms!) as well as a nod to the relationship between Pi, circles, and the (traditional) shape of pies. Convergence, right?
So what do math puns and nerdy celebrations have to do with… a wellness blog?
To some, maybe nothing.
But when I saw the date, the significance, the symbolism… It really sent my train of thought full steam ahead.
Pi vs pie. Infinite vs. finite. Irrational vs. material.
What do I mean?
There are things in this life, like pie, that are finite. Defined. Where the size of a piece for one affects the size of the pieces remaining for others. Time, for example. No matter how much we wish it were otherwise, the day only has 24 hours, and how you choose to spend each of those hours will affect the time you have remaining for other activities, priorities, people, or choices.
At the same time, there are things in this life that are infinite, irrational and ever expanding. Like Pi. Love, for example. The amount of love you have for one person does not, and cannot, diminish your love for anyone else, or even your capacity to love others.
The key is remembering when you’re working with pie and when you’re working with pi.
Dreams, desires, and even opportunities - those are infinite and can even feel (or be) irrational. But that doesn’t mean that they are irrelevant. They are as crucial to our lives as pi is to our understanding of mathematics.
Energy, attention, and emotional capacity? Those are essential to achieving those dreams and goals, but we need to remember that those are our limited resources. Yes, they are replenishable (you can always bake another pie), but that doesn’t mean that we can be careless with them. Where we focus our energy and attention matters, as it also determines where we are not focusing that attention. How big a slice of the metaphorical pie of our emotional capacity we spend on any one thing will have a direct effect on how much is available for other people, projects or endeavors.
But just like Pi can help us to understand how much pie we have (bad math joke? Bear with me…), so, too, do our limited and unlimited resources, capacities, and energies help us to lead a meaningful, purposeful and fulfilled life.
So whether or not you are celebrating Pi(e) Day today, I hope that you dream big and save a slice of care for yourself.