I realize someone already posted about a thousand paper cranes, but i just wanted to share my family's own experience folding a thousand paper cranes. During the last week of my dad's life while he was in the hospice home, my mom asked us to fold one thousand paper cranes during the time that we spent there. The ancient Japanese legend goes that whoever folds a thousand cranes will get their wish granted, and following the story of the girl who died of radiation after the hiroshima bombings, it has become a symbol for a wish for world peace. As this was one of my dad's dying wishes, my family diligently folded the cranes in his honor and as a sort of quiet meditation practice to help us keep calm during the many days that we spent at the hospice home. The cranes were then hung around the room and given as an offering/gift for all the visitors who came to see my dad.
Traditionally, the cranes are hung outdoors so that the wind and weather can slowly disintegrate them, thereby releasing the wish. In the same spirit of impermanance, most of our cranes were cremated with my dad's body... more on impermanence in another post :)
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