If I could tell how glad I was

by Emily Dickinson

If I could tell how glad I was

I should not be so glad —

But when I cannot make the Force,

Nor mould it into Word,

I know it is a sign

That new Dilemna be

From mathematics further off

Than for Eternity.

Math is powerful—it has a worldly perfection about it, a practical usefulness, an absolute truthfulness.  And math is beautiful—its simplicity and complexity, its geometric harmony, its logical consistency. 

But as Emily Dickinson recognized, math—like any language—cannot express everything.  Joy, gladness, hope—the inexpressible wonder of these gifts has never been reducible to a formula.  Energy, as Einstein observed, may equal mass times acceleration—but there’s no equation for gladness.

The greatest gifts are written on our hearts in the language of eternity by the author of eternity.  Let the beauty and power of mathematics always remind you of that, and you might just find yourself, like Ms. Dickinson, without words sufficient to tell the world how glad you are.

Have a wonderful day.