Currently feeling like I am in a constant state of upheaval and everything in my life is changing, I find myself drawn to the imagery of the mythical Phoenix. I repeat to myself several times a day "Like a Phoenix I rise from the ashes of my past and align with my new purpose in life." If I ever get another tattoo, it will probably look something like the below Pheonix flying from the fire!
Where does the mythical Pheonix come from? If you have ever seen Harry Potter you will be familiar with Dumbledore's Pheonix, Fawkes who posses magical tears that can heal and a song that can sooth the sole. He also lost his feathers and burst into flames in one movie which is what most people thing of when they think of a Phoenix. But the myth of the Pheonix has been around long before Harry Potter.
Many cultures had similar myths of the Phoenix but historians seem to think that the legend of the Pheonix came from the Greeks and Egyptians. Both the Greeks and the Egyptians associated the Pheonix with the sun and thought it represented immortality, renewal and rebirth. According to their legends, the Pheonix lived for hundreds of years and only one Pheonix could live at a time. The Pheonix was a large bird that had red, purple, and/or gold feathers. Before a phoenix reached the end of its life it would build a nest and then set itself on fire. A new Pheonix would appear in the ashes of the previous Phoenix. New life could only come after the old life was gone.
This birth, long life followed by going up in flames only to have a new Pheonix born again, to me, represents the cycle of life. The old life must end in order to create a new life. Or in other words, in order to move from one phase in life into another phase we have to let go of the old and start over new. Sometimes everything changes (like when you have a baby and can no longer live the life of a single person or when you graduate from high school and have to spread your wings and fly into adulthood or when all your kids become adults and you have to adjust to being an empty nester) and sometimes it is just ONE majorly important part of your life that changes (like losing a job or having a parent die). We all go through several phases in our life, some are easier than others. Some people seem to move seamlessly from one phase to another. Others find complete upheaval and stress when a new phase begins or end. I have found myself if total upheaval as my midlife crisis is in full swing.
Imagery of flames have long been used to represent difficult, seemingly impossible times in life. Ever heard the phrase out of the pot & into the fire? Just when you think you're in a hot spot you end up someplace hotter!
Here are a couple of quotes I love relate to the Pheonix and being reborn from the ashes.
"I’ve died a thousand deaths, each time reinventing myself brighter, stronger, and purer than before. From the midst of destruction, I became the creator of myself. From the midst of darkness, I became my own source of light.” — Cristen Rodgers
“And when all that was left was ashes, she would again clothe herself in flame. Rising from the dust of her past to rekindle the spark of her future. She was a Phoenix, her own salvation; rebirthed, renewed, resurrected.” — LaRhonda Toreson
One of my favorite songs is "If you're going through hell" by Rodney Atkins.
"If you're going through hell
Keep on going, don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
'Fore the devil even knows you're there.
Well, I been deep down in that darkness
I been down to my last match
Felt a hundred different demons
Breathing fire down my back
And I knew that if I stumbled
I'd fall right into the trap that they were laying, yeah
But the good news is there's angels everywhere out on the street
Holding out a hand to pull you back upon your feet
The one's that you been dragging for so long
You're on your knees, you might as well be prayin'
Guess what I'm saying
If you're going through hell
Keep on going, don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
'Fore the devil even knows you're there"
The flames, the hard times, aren't always a bad thing. The flames are what help us transform into something better than we were before. A new beautiful Phoenix will rise out the other end if we can just get through the fire we feel around us at the moment and then rise up after!
May your hard times be not so hard that they break you but just hard enough that you can transform and rise up like a Phoenix from the ashes of your past into a bright, beautiful future! "Like a Phoenix I rise from the ashes of my past and align with my new purpose in life."
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