It’s Chinese New Year and 2023 is the year of the Rabbit. But what exactly does this mean and how does it relate to therapeutic foster parents?
According to legend, the Rabbit sign is expected to guide us all to a softer time where we focus on self-reflection. Self-reflection is so important within Mosaic and our practices of therapeutic parenting as, if we do not reflect on our own actions and impulses how can we expect others to do the same?
We started our reflective practice in 2020 during Covid the year of the rat which symbolises fertility and abundance. We continued throughout 2021 the year of the ox which symbolises hard work and dependability.
Then we came to 2022 the year of the tiger embodying courage and bravery.
And in the year of the rabbit which symbolises longevity and peace on March 13th, we will be holding our 100th Weekly Foster Parent reflective group.
I am sure that each of these years will hold different meanings and symbols for us all. We have experienced varied emotions, endings, and new beginnings and for each of us the year of the Rabbit will symbolise something different.
The rabbit symbolizes fertility, luck, and creativity. Rabbits also symbolize compassion and intuition. The rabbit is a popular symbol in many cultures around the world. Often associated with springtime and new beginnings, these happy critters are a reminder that life is full of possibility.
This could potentially evoke the meaning of our reflective practices as reflecting helps us to stop, pause and examine our own capacities within us. In turn we can then look to utilise them within our relationships both with people and groups. Even though many of our capabilities are inherent, they still need nurturing and development as they can run dry without topping up on fuel.
Reflecting also gives us a space to not only look at the lighter sides of ourselves but also at the more challenging parts of our makeup, the parts that hold parts of our personalities we often do not like to take ownership of. The empathy and compassion we embrace belong to us wholeheartedly. But envy, rivalry, conflict and all the harder feelings can get pushed down or vomited out into others as we struggle to take ownership of them as ours. It is important to recognise and remember that we are all human beings, and we all have these feelings. Reflecting on them, recognising them, and taking ownership of them helps us to become more integrated because nothing that exists in the unconscious completely loses its influence on the personality.
If the dark side of us has been dominant in the Chinese new year of the rabbit could be the time to repair relationships, and be kind to each other and ourselves, for the rabbit is also a symbol of peace. Let us take moments to be introspective and have thoughtfulness in being. Instead of leaping impulsively into action as in the year of the Tiger suggested, the year of the rabbit emphasises the importance of rest and being more creative and reflective in any plans.
Therefore, the year of the rabbit holds implicit messages of the importance of empathy, compassion, thinking and being cautious.
In the SMILE training we use the Rabbit symbol to think about being vulnerable. What does a Rabbit symbolise for you?
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