The Caretaker

hold on baby, as long as I care for you there is no end in sight

Symbols

Ocean, Seahorse, Fish (Lionfish), Seagrass, Stone, Sunset

Description

Beneath the sun descending into the rejuvenating waters of the primordial ocean, a pair of seahorses holds on to a single strand of seagrass, itself solidly attached to a stone. One of them is expecting, and all of their attention is concentrated on the task of producing and protecting life. But while the female produces the eggs the male seahorse is the one who carries the pregnancy, which can symbolize a spiritual rebirth rather than a physical birth. And this special rebirth is not without danger: in the seagrass lurks a venomous lionfish. Like the sea-monster swallowing the mythical hero on his night sea journey, the hero has to kill the monster from the inside in order to save himself and sometimes others as well.

Keywords

Attachment: connection, bonding, closeness, commitment, loyalty, devotion, not giving up or being able to, holding on, clinging, dependency, fear of loss, stuck

Healing: caring, self-care, compassion, sensitivity, acceptance, attention, responsibility, guardian, protection, rescuing, safety, duty or obligation, need, control, worry, pushy or needy, pressure, oppression

Eternity: constancy, patience, stability, continuity, procreation, family, potential, creative power, preservation, immortality, survival, presence

Examples

Movie Clips & Videos:

Fatherly advice – The Tree of Life

A. I. – ending explained

Trying to help someone – The Soloist

My Son Was One of a Kind – A. I.
Finding Meaning in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,
Transgression and Confession – Your Sister's Sister,
'Up in The Air' Jason Reitman on loyalty, connection and convenience,
What Is Your Attachment Style?,
Seahorse Male Pregnancy: The Dark Side

"A Centaur is a legendary animal, half human and half horse, so it well represents a perfect union and harmony of mental and physical. A centaur is not a horse rider in control of her horse, but a rider who is one with her horse. Not a psyche divorced from and in control of a soma, but a self-controlling, self-governing, psychosomatic unity. To find centric meaning in life–fundamental meaning–is to find that the very process of life itself generates joy."

– Ken Wilber, No Boundary

Podcasts:
What to Expect When You're Expecting a Robot,
Hit Me With Your Best Shot,
Love Is A Battlefield (This American Life),
Comfort, If Not A Cure (Modern Love),
Bringing Body and Mind Together,
Does Having Children Really Make Us Happier (Life Examined)

Writings:
Fables of the Salamander and the Seahorse,
How Parents Can Learn To Back Off,
Where Our Relationship Patterns Come From,
How To Cut An Unhealthy Bond To Someone,
It’s Not a Big Deal, You’re Just Too Sensitive,
How To Nurture an Orchid Child, I'm Not Ok – You're Ok,
Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships

Attachment in Children, Human Bonding, Atlas Personality, Parenting,
Parentification, Codependency, Anxious Attachment Style, Pair Bond,
Parental Investment, Comfort Object, Dependency, Self-Preservation,
Ouroboros, Self-Reference, Enmeshment, Karpman Drama Triangle

"When children are born what they need most from their parents is love, by which I mean affection, attention, care, protection, kindness, and the willingness to communicate. If these needs are gratified, the bodies of those children will retain the good memory of such caring affection all their lives, and later, as adults, they will be able to pass on the same kind of love to their children. But if this is not the case, the children will be left with a lifelong yearning for the fulfillment of their initial (and vital) needs. In later life, this yearning will be directed at other people."

– Alice Miller, The Body Never Lies

Songs:
Eyeoneye (Andrew Bird about coming too close to the source)