Entry 60: Symbols

A symbol is an object or a sign that represents something else. It carries some of the qualities of the thing it symbolizes. All numbers are symbols. The Arabic numbers, for example, represents the quantities. "1" represents having only one thing. The ancient Egyptian symbol, the "ankh," is the key of life. It's shaped like a key with a loop on top. It's the hieroglyphic character that symbolizes "eternal life." Another very common symbol is flags. For example, the rainbow flag that represents the LGBT. It's composed of six different-colored stripes. Each color represents a thing; red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), blue (harmony), and purple/violet (spirit). The flag as a whole represents the diversity in the LGBT community. I think symbols can both be created by will and be occurring naturally. The symbols I mentioned earlier were all created. However, some symbols such as animals contain qualities that we would instinctively associate with something else. For example, dogs symbolizes loyalty, lions for strength, and owls represents wisdom. In my own life, I see and use symbols every day. Written languages are symbols. Chinese, English and French, the ones I can write, all have different characters and letters that represent almost everything.