intrinsic value

this is a small statue that i remember seeing always at my norwegian grandmother's home... she died last year and so i share it with my mom... but it has recently got me to thinking...
afterall, it is obviously a miniature of 'the little mermaid' who resides in copenhagen bay, denmark... 'the little mermaid' is a tale written by hans christian andersen in 1836... it is nothing like the disney film... the mermaid makes great sacrifices to herself in order to get a prince to love her...
so, did my nana have this merely as a souvenir? i think not... she was in a marriage where her heritage was smothered, where she was not fully herself... i remember her as a very self-sufficient woman... a reader of anything she could get her hands on; though she had a soft-spot for henrik ibsen, a norwegian writer considered to be very progressive in his thinking... i think the little statue was a reminder, of the sacrifices that are made that can end up destructive to oneself... she eventually left my grandfather...
so where is the line drawn between sacrifice and self-sacrifice?

'the sacrifice which causes sorrow to the doer of the sacrifice
is no sacrifice.
real sacrifice lightens the mind of the doer
and gives him a sense of peace and joy.
the buddha gave up the pleasures of life
because they had become painful to him.'
- mahatma gandhi

i don't think that anyone wants to be in this boat, no one goes looking for it... but it happens... how do women (and definitely some men) end up in such horrible positions? why is their self-esteem so low? beautiful stories like 'the secret life of bees', 'hannah's daughters', 'the good earth' and even shel silverstein's 'the giving tree' explore this topic... i used to love 'the giving tree' until i got older - and i realized the boy/man only took... and that even though the tree wanted to give him anything he needed, he let her become nothing but a stump... that story pains me now... because there are so many people doing that same thing... and they are hard to help... self-sacrifice leaves you less than you were, sacrifice can make you more than you are...

when i saw the green girl studios mermaid, i made a connection to the keepsake, to the statue, to the story... you have an intrinsic value that should be untouchable... it is yours to share but yours alone... this beautifully created mermaid knows that... she is part of a bracelet made with vintage brass chain, findings and sea star... there is glass by mika at pinocean and stones reminiscent of the one she sits upon in copenhagen... and there is a vintaj 'believe' tag that hangs as well, it is just not pictured...

to be worn to remind you of all that you are - and how beautiful that is...