Sacred Objects

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“Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso

My two-year-old son has a stuffy he likes to carry everywhere. It’s a small pink bunny that fits perfectly in his hand and he carries it when we are biking, hiking and most everywhere else, except swimming.

Knowing how important this bunny is, I ordered a backup of the same stuffy. Fake stuffy isn’t worn in the same way so it doesn’t work to soothe if he’s lying down for a nap and I can’t find the real one – it just infuriates him. So when fake stuffy went missing for 6 months, it was no problem.

Until he resurfaced a month ago and now my son likes to carry around both the real one and the fake one, multiplying my problem of making sure we have the necessary parts before embarking on the next part of the schedule.

So, I ordered 6 backups of the fake stuffy for $2 each on eBay and implemented a rotation schedule so there’s only one out at a time but they all look more of less the same amount of worn.

It’s a silly routine but it’s made me appreciate the power of sacred objects. I drink my tea every morning from a mug that says “LOVE” and was the first thing my daughter ever bought me with her own money. Everything tastes sweet in that mug.

And when I use the tools that used to be my father’s, I feel his warmth, energy and enthusiasm welling up inside me and I’m more certain the project will turn out fine.

I have a gold-plated Angel token that I bought for $3 and carried in my pocket a dozen years ago when I was going through my divorce. The touch of it reminded me to have faith that life would work out. Although I don’t carry it anymore, when I come across it in my drawer, I smile and celebrate what faith has delivered.

I can visit the places I’ve traveled in a short trip through my house remembering the laughter with friends as we picked out Tibetan singing bowls or travel through time when I touch my stuffed koala from childhood. They are just objects but they open doors that are shortcuts to places that I want to go.

So I happily do the stuffy dance with my son. He’s taken to telling me “Don’t say ‘Yay’” when I want to celebrate a potty training victory. Something about my natural enthusiasm is overwhelming to him in that private context. Instead I channel it along with my love, sending it along with him in his sacred objects.

What are your sacred objects?

45 thoughts on “Sacred Objects”

  1. Thank you, Wynne, for sharing such a rich post–truly a “got ya,” piece of writing. Oh, how I could relate–I once had so many sacred objects. I still have a few, but I rarely go “there” anymore. I could relate to the tea cup, the one my daughter gave me, purchased with her very own savings. I still have a box with treasured slips within it, written from my son and daughter. I rarely look backward now, for I began to experienc the flip side of the objects–they reminded me of what seems lost. Now, all is stored in my heart, unseen, but definitely felt very deeply.

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  2. Thank you for sharing!!.. my sacred object is my heart, where all my dreams and memories are stored… 🙂

    Until we meet again..
    May your day be touched
    by a bit of Irish luck,
    Brightened by a song
    in your heart,
    And warmed by the smiles
    of people you love.
    (Irish Saying)

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  3. Sacred? Few objects have survived life’s journey. People have been my constants, although they change as well.
    Your post triggered a thought this morning, about the old Jimmy Stewart movie, “Harvey,” which I haven’t seen in years, the story of an adult with an imaginary friend. Have you seen it? Adults “aren’t allowed” to carry stuffed animals around, although I have two little bears that my wife gave to me early in our relationship that stay on my desk.and keep me company as I work.

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    1. I love that image of the two bears you’ve given me with this comment. I don’t think I’ve seen Harvey but I love Jimmy Stewart – I’ll have to check it out.

      You are so right – people are the most sacred of companions but they do change too. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. When my brother was young he had a stuffed lion that he loved and my parents got a backup just in case. Sure enough, he lost the original, but the backup saved the day.

    I don’t think I have it anymore, but there was a puka shell necklace that a friend had given me, and it was my travelling necklace. It wasn’t really my style for everyday wear, but if I was going on a trip, I had to have my necklace with me.

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    1. Oh, a puka shell necklace. That’s a good one. It reminds me of the Tiger Eye bracelet I got in Nepal that I carried when I traveled for courage. How much younger is your brother?

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  5. I still have my favorite stuffy from childhood tucked away with school related mementos and a few things from the grands- a key chain with each girls first name initial charm, a lovely “diamond” snowflake necklace the older bought for me one Christmas. I too have a mug I use every day for coffee. It was one they gave me when I was their daily nanny prior to my divorce and return to work.

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  6. In the mid-70s I did a multi-hour video “oral” history with my dad, then in his mid-70s. I do not view it often, but I’d hate to lose this “living” experience of his presence. As your top photo suggests, the word “love” carries great weight.

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    1. Oh, what a wonderful project that must have been with your dad. It reminds me of the StoryCorps project that NPR did for many years where they had booths so families could easy capture the same type of history and expression as you did. I like how you so succinctly put it “the word ‘love’ carries great weight.” Indeed!

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  7. This is so relatable! When my daughter was little she used her receiving blankets as her blankies so I had to go and buy more because she was getting them dirty so fast. We had to have plenty to last through the laundry cycle because we did the laundromat thing in those days. My granddaughter has her Moo-Moo Bear, a 10 year old bear that’s become as “real” as the Velveteen Rabbit. She still sleeps with him! 😊

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    1. The blanket – I had one of those. Reminds me of Linus in the Peanuts cartoons. So sweet your granddaughter still sleeps with Moo-Moo Bear, a name that conflates two species in the magical way kids can!

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      1. Right?! She named her bear when she was learning to talk so there’s no saying what magical thoughts were going through her mind! 😄 she’s so attached to that misshapen worn bear!

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  8. When I was a tiny toddler my mother had to cut my bankie in half so that i could have half and the other could go in the wash. Back then, during WWII, it would have been too expensive to go out and just buy another. Parenting called for a whole new level of creativity during those days, I suppose! Necessity is the mother of invention, they say . . .

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  9. Hadn’t thought of it as sacred, but I have a blanket on my bed that is almost threadbare. It has travel with me, attended retreats, and kept me warm more times than I can remember. Sacred, indeed.

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  10. On the occasion of one of my first major moves as an adult, I asked my parents to bring me some of “my sacred objects” from high school. They did, in a plastic bag, and I left it unpacked. A well-meaning soul saw the plastic bag of “stuff” and helped me by tossing it in the trash. I know they meant well, but by the time I discovered it, the trash has been picked up, and I was filled with regret. I still remember the “sacred objects” all these years later, and the regret of losing them. But your touching post reminded me of them again, and so the sweet memories of those objects remain. Thank you for the trigger!

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    1. Oh, I’m feeling the loss for you just reading this comment. I’ve lost a couple of sacred objects to the trash by accident as well and so I know what you mean by that regret. But I’m glad that the sweet memories remain. What a touching comment, thank you!

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  12. I about died of laughter when I got to the part of the post about him now carrying both around and you needing to order even more. You’re gonna have a zoo of bunnies by the time your son hits puberty. 😂

    I know the feeling though. Our T has many pets but the one he needs at all times, including in the car rides, is Moo Moo, his stuffed cow. And he’s 7!

    These moments do make me smile as a parent cuz they are still so innocent. I know I will miss these moments one day.

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    1. Oh, you are so good at putting things into perspective. Yes, they are so innocent. But here’s the question – do you have a backup Moo Moo? Or have you gotten to age 7 with just one? I had backups for my daughter’s favorite elephant but they never were accepted as a substitute either.

      But yes, I might have a zoo before we get to double digits. Maybe I should have bought all of them I could find on eBay! 🙂

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  13. Oh, the power of our sacred objects — and the difficulty of leaving some behind. I’m having to make tough choices as I prepare to move abroad. Enjoying reliving happy memories, and looking forward to creating new ones 💜

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    1. Oh my goodness, that has to be so hard! I haven’t moved in 18 years so it’s been a long time since I had to do the purge. But your tough choices are making so much room for new ones. So exciting!

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  14. Gosh scared objects, by the time you get to my age, you can have too many. I know exactly what you mean. All these objects are symbols of memories we cherish. And so holding onto them means reliving those good times as we wish. I am desperately trying to eliminate things from my life, so now I take a picture of it and then let the thing go. It isn’t easy still, especially if it belonged to a loved one who’s now passed. Still I try. Simply because letting go means there is more space, weightlessness, and clarity. I’d still hold on to all the stuffys however, because those will definitely come in handy. 😄 Lovely post! You always get me thinking Wynne.

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    1. This is such a beautiful sentence, “Simply because letting go means there is more space, weightlessness, and clarity.” Such great wisdom, Alegria! And such a wonderful way you are photographing them and then letting them go. Maybe they’ll be a video somewhere down the road? Love this comment!

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  17. Funny, I was just watching an early episode of “Cheers” this morning, and Sam was counseling a Red Sox player who was in a slump. He pulled a bottle cap out of his pocket and said that was his good luck charm. The player asked if he could borrow it, so Sam reluctantly allowed him to…and then everything started to go to hell for him, while the player started hitting again. When Sam asked for the bottle cap back, the player admitted he’s lost it a week earlier in Kansas City. Well, Sam was devastated. When Diane told him it was just a silly object, he recounted how it was the cap from the last bottle of beer he ever drank, and holding onto it gave him the strength to avoid the temptation of booze.

    I thought that was very powerful and a great example of how even the most ordinary objects often serve a much bigger purpose.

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