Symbolica

From day one of my son attending daycare for two days a week I have fretted over the idea of him spending time away from mine or my husband’s loving protection. Despite this I really do feel that it is a healthy thing for our family, and our son is thriving.

I was pondering my role as a mother and my close bond with my son and I realised that this first experience of letting go is just the beginning of a lifetime of little ‘letting go’s’. I thought I could use some help so I went in search of a symbol or ceremony to remind me of the importance of being able to ‘let go’.

I found a Thai Buddhist ceremony which occurs once a year on the full moon of the twelfth month of their lunar calender. Amazingly the Loy Krathong (Loy meaning to “float” and Kratong is the Thai word for a sort of raft or boat) was celebrated in Thailand last night.

The people make the little Lotus shaped rafts made of banana leaves, decorate them with flowers, incense and candles, and release them to float away on a river’s surface. The ceremony serves as a way of ‘letting go’ of negative aspects of oneself or negativities in life and inviting good luck.

I am adapting this idea for my own purpose by releasing a boat as a symbol not of releasing negativity but as a symbol of my acknowledgement of my son’s independent path.

Loy Krathong Away http://www.flickr.com/photos/enda/290935555/

I’ve found the best way to decide what symbol to look at next is to follow my intuition and take note of what’s going on around me. I suspect I will get better at this as time goes on and I get into a flow.

So the reason for the heart is simply because I came across a tattoo of a heart within a heart whilst looking for a symbol to help my friend who is going through a difficult time coping with a six month old babe with sleep issues.

I wanted to be able to give my friend a symbol that would help her feel supported and loved by her family and friends, and for that love to flow around and through her to her daughter as well.

I liked this symbol because of the way it connects the mother’s heart to that of the the child. If a mum is feeling anxious or depressed about their role, taking time out to focus on the love that is present underneath all the responsibility and ‘doing’ that is required, can be a positive step.