Symbols 1804

Symbols are a part of life for nearly everyone I suppose. Every Christian church has a cross. I have seen travel shows where Americans view Muslim temples and they have symbols. Many Buddhist temples have statues of the Buddha that are 2 or 3 times lifesize. I realized yesterday that I have unconsciously created my own symbols on my bedroom wall. Perhaps we humans are preprogrammed to look to and follow symbols. On my wall I have the three most prominent ones in my life. On the left are 2 rosaries, one is very old and was my grandpa’s. Its beads are worn and there is a missing link in it. I always felt it symbolized it was/is a missing link in my life. I am sure it was blessed because in those days you bought a rosary at a church and it had to be blessed before you could take it home. I carried those 2 rosaries with me through my navy years and they are prize possessions. On the right is a small, decorative, wooden carved Buddha which has always symbolized to me a way of life and how one should treat others. In the middle is an anchor which symbolizes my navy years, my time with my grandpa, and the wonderful woman to which I have been married to for 54 years. She was my anchor my someone to come home to during the navy years, through my working life and now retirement. Last winter when she was close to death several times, I thought my anchor would be lost and I would be a ship adrift in an angry sea; but I found out that Jesus saves and it’s not just green stamps (a little sixties reference for those who have never heard it.)