THE DOVE EMOJI 🕊️
and how we can carry its legacy into the new year
Hello my love,
White is a color that seems to immediately bring a sense of calm. Despite its ordinariness, it has many different associations in different cultures and yet speaks in a universal language of beginnings, endings and in-betweens.
In some places, white is a symbol of purity and renewal. In others, it is a color of mourning, a reminder of life’s cyclical nature. And in some, it is both. In India, it is worn in grief by the Hindus, while in Western traditions, it has adorned brides for centuries as a symbol of innocence. In Islam, we wear white both in moments of mourning and in celebration.
And then there’s the white dove - a bird that transcends cultures and continents, carrying a fragile yet powerful message of hope and peace. But how did this humble creature take on such a profound role in our collective psyche?
The story traces back to ancient mythology and scripture. In Noah’s tale, the dove brings an olive branch, a sign of life after the flood. Later, Picasso immortalized it in his iconic lithograph, solidifying the dove as a symbol of peace in the modern world.
In today’s digital age, that same dove has transcended its historical roots to become something far more personal and accessible: the dove emoji 🕊️.
I often wonder about the way we continue to reinvent symbols, breathing new life into them. It’s fascinating how the dove, a symbol as old as time itself, carries the legacy of the color white into contemporary, everyday interactions. It’s almost as if we’re using this emoji to reclaim something pure in the face of our increasingly chaotic world.
The dove emoji may not carry the weight of centuries of religious and cultural meaning, but it carries something just as powerful: our shared desire for hope and a better world.
As i reflect on this, i am thinking about how I wear only white in the summers. It feels like a quiet rebellion against the chaos of life. White grounds me in my inner softness, offers a space to pause and a reminder to embrace simplicity.
White helps me become a soft mirror. I don’t want to distract or take away, i only want to reflect the beauty of life, all around me.
I find myself drawn to white not as an absence of color, but as a presence of possibility. White is light, space and stillness. It’s the beginning of all things, and maybe, just maybe, it’s the color of hope because it invites us to imagine a world we’re yet to create.
I wanted to step into the new year with the lightness of white and I hope this inspires you to embrace and incorporate white in any shape and form into your life, and perhaps use the dove emoji more often :)
And with that, I’m going to leave you with my vision board for this year 🕊️
What does the color white mean to you? I’d love to know how it shows up in your life?
Lovingly yours,
imdad
🕊 to thread through and echoing some of your beautiful sentiments...for me white was always a feeling of innocence ...a curiosity and wonder in canvas form ready to recieve whatever imagination is reflected through the eye of the beholder 👁🤍✨️