We are all but symbols of some greater thing—totems of ourselves–subject to change and growth. When we forget that metaphoric sense of ourselves, we lose sight of the overall path

We are all but symbols of some greater thing—totems of ourselves–subject to change and growth. When we forget that metaphoric sense of ourselves, we lose sight of the overall path (S. Kelley Harrell, Gift of the Dreamtime – Reader’s Companion)