An unstoppable movement of trust
East Asian belief holds that every individual has an invisible thread of fate that binds them to the people who will be a part of their lives. This red thread is sacred, unbreakable, and connects our affections until eternity, intertwining us no matter the distance or the circumstances between us.
A myth from Chinese and Japanese mythology known as the myth of the red thread affirms that those who have the fortune to be linked together by the red thread that the gods have placed around their ankles or on their pinkies will become what is commonly known as “soul mates.”
In the East, there is a variety of stories about love, destiny, and karma involving people who have to meet or help each other at a certain time and in a certain manner.
Legends recited in Japanese homes to children and youth tell that an emperor asked a very powerful witch capable of seeing the red threads for help in locating his future wife at the other end of the thread.
A search led the witch to a market, where she found a poor peasant woman holding a baby in her arms. She pointed out to the emperor that his thread ended right there. In his anger, the emperor pushed the woman who was still holding the little girl, knocking her to the ground and causing a large wound on the child’s forehead. Later, after believing he had been deceived, he ordered the witch to be beheaded and ceased all contact with the peasant woman.
When the time came for him to marry an army general’s daughter, the woman entered the temple covered in a long and beautiful veil. As he stood before his wife, he noticed that she had a large scar on her forehead. A scar that he himself had caused and now recognized.
Please do not lose the (red) thread
The myth of the red thread offers a way to view our relationship map as a framework of cooperative relationships, intimate stories, and that what comes our way never occurs by chance, but is predestined from birth.
Many cultures have speculated about what moves people’s steps, and many have proposed an astronomical thread that drives our movements. In the Moirai, the Greeks hold a golden thread for every individual on Earth that they cut suddenly when that individual dies. According to Kabbalah, a red thread connects believers to the Holy Land.
Fundación MAPFRE, a non-profit organization that highlights the group’s social work, also used the red thread in its video A More Human Future by linking a grandfather to a girl, to whom he explains what’s important in life: helping others. On this visit, everything you will need is contained in a single suitcase: solidarity, love of neighbor, companionship, support for those suffering from rare diseases, and an appreciation of the talents of people with disabilities.
MAPFRE aspires to continuously improve the present and future of our clients, employees, partners and collaborators, and that of society as a whole.
Please don’t lose the thread; we have a lot to share with you.