the kind ouroboros

I’ve made a few versions of this drawing. The first one looked sort of like a giraffe. It was pointed out to me that this is kind of a variation of the ouroboros — the snake eating its tail. I looked up ouroboros:

often taken to symbolize introspection, the eternal return or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself. It also represents the infinite cycle of nature’s endless creation and destruction, life and death.

In this case it is a head resting on the hand, a gesture of empathy and care towards oneself. I love the thought of the introspection, growth, and infinity represented in the symbol coming from a gentle expression.