Patrick Murray
Heir Critical reasoning
Spring 2009
A Sign that Defines Me
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My symbol is a portrayal of my personal life direction, touching on the past and pointing towards destiny. The never-ending knot of the Buddha resting on a bed of oak tree leaves covered by a Celtic compass, this is who I am. This is what I’m all about. The layered order of the symbols are placed in an almost autobiographical order, childhood, adolescents and future self. The placement also reflects the transitions that we make in
out lives, all whale holding onto the past keeping it as an ever present force for my future. It was interesting whale finding symbols that represent myself I tried to pay no attention to the descriptions at first and only go off of gut feeling and interestingly enough I found that all three of my symbols have roots in Celtic culture, and my family also has roots in Celtic culture.
The bed of oak leaves is a catalyst for my childhood, raised by a family with strong moral values and stability. The family stood strong much as the mighty oak tree. The leaves are the immediate offspring of the mother tree. Bedded creating a foundation for the rest of my life to be built upon. The oak is also reminiscent of the summer that I spent at Boy Scout camp, the ground cluttered with its leaves and the campsites covered by their shade. It was a place where I learned how to be a man, how to survive, and how to enjoy nature and everything that it has to offer. These experiences had molded who I am as a person. Someone who puts environment in front of self, much like Celtic traditions believe oak to be the gateway to the woods.
The endless Knot is a symbol for never ending knowledge loop and the quest for knowledge. Much like adolescents in the developmental stages of life they want to learn and become an intelligent human. The endless knot is also a symbol of continuity within life’s undying existence of a dualistic world, the opposing...