It was a mythological entity that embodied a fire spirit with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple, blue, and green according to some legends). It had a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it built itself a nest of twigs that then ignited; both nest and bird burnt fiercely, reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arose, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix was destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new phoenix embalmed the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposited it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis(literally "sun-city" in Greek). It is said that the bird's cry was that of a beautiful song
The Phoenix has close links to resurrection and immortality in ancient cultures, particularly the Egyptians who revered the sun god.    Early Christians later linked the legend to Christ.  But today it represents more accurately our vision, our ability to evaluate our personal circumstances in our current environment, and to be intuitive enough and wise enough to recognize our need to go in a different direction with our life. 
I believe in that concept--that no one is captive to his current situation--that each person can "rise from the ashes" of his present circumstances to renew or begin anew a better life.  
Believe me, there are naysayers who will try their very best, usually for their own selfish benefit, to prevent our doing so; but those of us with courage will take the chance that we can yet improve our lives through change.
That may mean leaving behind certain worldly possessions; but we will leave them behind anyway at some point.   They have absolutely no value in terms of what we can gain, both in this world and the next.
 
To read more about the Phoenix, go to
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(mythology)