Our world is governed by laws of nature and humans

The saying about never being too old to learn is certainly true, at least I've found it to be true.

This year is leap year. That means that on Friday, February 29, we will not only receive an extra day, but it will be the fifth Friday of February, a rarity that last occurred in 1980 and will not occur again until 2036 - every 28 years.

In doing a little research, I discovered that the Gregorian calendar we use is not perfect, and that's the reason every four years we have to make a correction to keep everything in order. Another modification may have to be made in a few thousand years to fine tune the year.

There are rules to follow in determining the years that leap years may occur: Every year that can be divided by 4 is a leap year; but if the year is divisible by 100, it is not a leap year, however, it is a leap year if it is divisible by 400. The year 2000 was a special year because it was the first time the third rule was used. We lose about six hours every 365 days, therefore, by adding an extra day in February, we gain back those 24 hours.

I find it fascinating that our planet is governed by laws of nature that makes it predictable, while at the same time, it is necessary for us to make corrections to our human made calculations in order to maintain consistency.

While humans can be fickle, we can always trust the integrity of the laws of nature. That is reason for rejoicing and giving thanks. Perhaps if we gave it some thought and all dedicated ourselves to making that extra day something special rather than "just another day," we could make a real impact on our communities.