Today is my 51st birthday. According to popular opinion, this is a relatively insignificant age. One's 50th birthday, in virtue of marking a half-century of life beyond the womb, is typically given much more attention. And rightfully so. But a little reflection on the number 51 will reveal that a person who has lived this many years has lived a mathematically meaningful amount of time - however lacking one's existence has been in other respects.
The mathematical meaning of 51 years: 51 is a composite number. A composite number is a positive integer that has a positive divisor other than 1 or itself. Every integer greater than 1 is either a prime number or a composite number. A prime number is a natural number that has exactly two distinct natural number divisors, which are 1 and the prime number itself. The prime factorization of a positive integer is the division of that integer into the prime numbers that divide into that number exactly - without remainder. The prime factorization of 51 is 3 x 17. So a person who has lived 51 years has lived through exactly three periods of 17 years.
Aside from the purely intrinsic interest one might have in this arithmetic observation, it can also be useful as a tool for thinking about the seasons of one's life. Since my past life can be divided up into three equal portions, I can meditate on the contributions of each of those parts of my life to my experience as a whole. Though the division may be somewhat arbitary, it may also prove to be instructive. In contemplating this trinity of times, I would no doubt discover multiple reasons for gratitude to the Trinity of Persons who created me, redeemed me, and continues to guide me during this prime of my life.
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