YOUR LIFE A-Z: ICON

WHAT IS SHE SAYING TO YOU? 

ICON-ICONIC

Following the word Hagiology is the word ICON.   ICON’s are generally known as early Eastern Christian religious paintings that depict a certain image, symbol or saint.  For instance, the ICON of the serious St. Thomas or Mary of Magdalena with the red egg are familiar Eastern ICONS.  ICONS can be used as a mirror for us to look into and ask the question, “How am I doing?”  ICONS can represent a standard and a measurement for our soul to achieve a sense of an internal life of peace and purpose.  Besides a mirror an ICON can also serve as a window into the ancient past, a connection to a sacred space inside of us that carries a thread to our history.  Google the word and view the various ICONS and notice if one speaks to you at a level deep inside of you.  
Another way ICON can be useful to us is through the image of a hero or a person that achieves a distinction of excellence in one form or the other.  In traditional Greek literature the gods, goddesses, and athletes were ICONIC.  An ICON becomes bigger than life and lives on past the traditional time of his/her historical moment.  John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa are ICONS of our time.  The ICONIC legends serve us today with an inspirational confidence that life can be heroic in the day-to-day holiness of each moment.  Changing your focus to the possibilities and letting go of the “what if’s” presents a daily opportunities to make a difference in your own life and the lives of others.