Don’t you remember counting steps as a child playing games outside that required a certain number of steps to be measured (as in variations of Hide and Seek?) And even if we don’t remember it… our parents probably counted out gleefully our first baby steps while we were learning to walk! From our first steps until our last… lives are measured in going the distance… literally and figuratively.
The other day I discovered this picture and explanation to a new word ” bematists” ! ( be still my pattering heart)
After reading the definition and explanation… I was more fascinated than ever. Bematists were recognized and their jobs recorded in both ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece archives.
They were the first “pacemakers”… they measured the length of expeditions by measuring distances that required counting each individual step from start to finish… pace by pace… step by step. And amazingly, as evidence shows from Alexander the Great’s campaign in Asia… they were highly accurate … even by modern standards!
Calculating distances in Ancient EgyptThe great mathematician-Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth based on Egyptian bematists’ recordings- without technology… and we think we are so superior today?
One thought that popped in my mind was how interesting it would be to see the Three Wise Men being followed by bematists… looking down at their feet counting each step… pacing, always pacing. How long really was that trip?
On the other hand… the mission of the Three Wise Men wasn’t about the distance they would cover , counting steps or looking down – it was about looking up, following a star and going the distance ( whatever the count) for the promise of a new world order and everlasting life!
So until tomorrow… Aren’t we taught, from early on, to take life step by step? It isn’t always easy to do… we humans like to jump ahead… I am certainly guilty of ” Tigger bouncing” from time to time. I think my best steps are prayers…as I move through life from prayer to prayer… thankful for another sunrise.
One of Rutledge’s Japanese Maple leaves fell off a branch in the rains Thursday evening-decorating his plaque so sweetly! Fingers crossed the first morning glory bud opens today or tomorrow!
I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents
were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my
grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old
Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended
Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters
Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am
presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also
taught at the College of Charleston.
For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy
matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of
stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message
through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret
of success in teaching social studies is always in the story.
I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest
teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re
ripe you rot.”
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle
❤