x3....THIRD TIME'S A CHARM.

photo taken on September 22, 2011

of graffiti at the base of the trail to hike Ensign Peak

We have all hear the phrases..."The third time's lucky." or  "the third time's a charm".

There is a common belief that the third time something is attempted is more likely to succeed than the previous two attempts. But why is the third time lucky?  In doing some research I came across a piece of history that under English law, anyone who survived three attempts at hanging would be set free.

 However, It seems more likely "x3" is a belief that, having had setbacks, we ought to persevere and not give up. This is enshrined in the phrase 'try, try and try again'. Three seems to be the right number of times to try. Two isn't enough but four is too many.

Think of every time you've seen a movie or drama in which a character tries to unlock a door with an set of unfamiliar keys. The first key fails, the second key fails - it is always the third that works.

Personally the number three has had significant meaning for me lately. The past couple of blog post (and the next several ones as well) will be photos I have taken on three different hikes that I climbed over the weekend. Seeing this graffiti sign of x3 at the beginning of my first hike was a confirmation of the importance for me to do this hikes.  Also in the above photo, there is additional symbolism. The times sign or "X" is the symbol of a chiasm. The color blue is also important, as well as the three dots forming an inverted triangle pointing down.