Symbolism of the dragonfly
The role of dragonflies in my life
One of my fond memories from childhood is of catching dragonflies with my siblings. You might imagine we’d catch them with a net, like the kind one would use to catch butterflies, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, we’d use our bare hands—or, rather, our forefingers and thumbs—to catch them by the end of their tail (believe me, it’s possible).
To catch a dragonfly by its skittish tail with the sole propriety of two fingers without causing it any harm takes focus, speed, acuity of sight, and a seriously soft grip. Sometimes, we would exhaust all patience just to catch one. But on the rare occasion we did, we would admire it for a moment or two at most. Then, wistfully, we’d release it. Even if our adolescent minds couldn’t realize it at the time, we were teaching ourselves the important procedure of letting go.
As a young single mother, I made sure to tell my daughters the story of how I would catch dragonflies. I was fulfilling some subconscious need to impart in them a side of me I hadn’t fully appreciated within myself. Now that I’m older, I can reflect on those memories that have always stuck so close to my heart.
Symbolism of the dragonfly
On the surface, dragonflies remind me of where I come from and of simpler times. They’ve always been my go-to if I was ever asked to choose a “spirit animal” or some nonhuman representative of myself. I even have a tattoo of a dragonfly on my wrist that matches the one on my eldest daughter’s ribcage.
According to a quick Google search, the “dragonfly” symbolizes change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization. Those are precisely the hallmarks of my cherished memories I had never been able to put into words, the qualities that the dragonfly reinforces in me—more than that, the single quality I most admire in myself: my ability to let go.
The philosophy of letting go
Letting go is not an easy skill to learn. Letting go is a journey. To paraphrase the words of philosopher Thich Nhat Hanh, “letting go” means learning to love more, not less. It’s learning to live with yourself despite what you’ve been through, what you’ve lost, everything.
When you truly let go, you open yourself to bigger and better things. I challenge you to let the dragonfly in my logo remind you to focus your energy on moving forward with positivity and finding fulfilment. It’s time to write your new story.
— Marsha