We lose the meaning in our symbols if we believe the symbol itself is the object we are describing. I had the opportunity to travel to Peebles, Ohio to see the Serpent Mound and contemplate how we use symbols to transfer meaning. If you haven’t ever been to see the Great Snake, I highly recommend it. In walking around this sacred site it is obvious something important is being communicated in the 1,100 foot image constructed on the hilltop above Brush Creek. Unfortunately the exact meaning of the symbol of the snake has been lost to history.
Have you considered that nearly everything we use to communicate is a symbol to represent something else? The letters in the words of this post are symbols we have agreed as a language mean something else. You understand what I am trying to communicate when I type the letters “Great Snake” whether you have ever seen a giant snake or not.
What symbols do you use? Our lives are saturated with symbols. Words. Images. Emojis. But what is the meaning behind each of these symbols? What is the message they are conveying? An important note is to realize that the symbol itself is NOT the actual object it represents. You would have to stand in front of the Serpent Mound in the quiet fog on the hilltop over Brush Creek to truly understand some of its power. A picture of it is not the same thing.
What symbols do you use that have lost connection to their original intent? What purpose and meaning can be re-membered in the images and symbols you use to decorate your home or to communicate with those around you? How would life be more meaningful and intentional if the original, deeper intent of these symbols was reconnected? – www.rhoadscoaching.com
finding meaning and purpose in daily life