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I seem to have slipped sideways from things that are known psychopomps, beings that escort souls after death, to things that make me feel lucky or happy.
There are eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. I'm closer to being Buddhist than anything else, but I found I needed different symbols.
When Alice could just barely talk, we were walking in town and playing at the playground when a ladybug landed on her hand. She stared at it, transfixed as it crawled across her palm, and then flew away. When we got home, she sat on her father and told him, with hand gestures:
Ladybug! Tickle my hand. Flew away! Outside.
So ladybugs are favorites of mine.
Lee Thomson 