Badge-R: The freedom to unite

Our badger is a metaphor for what is inside every one of us

Badgers have a poor reputation that leads to people persecuting and demonising them. They are the unseen animals of the night that forage and snuffle in the undergrowth for little morsels of food. Unfortunately, all that most people care to notice is black and white and grey. They are the colours within our society, of our mental state and our outlook of life.

If only we could see them in daylight. Alive and thriving rather than laid at the roadside with coats of bristle and down blowing in the wind. If only the badger's colours were different; a fur coat of vibrant red with streaks of yellow and gold. How treasured an animal they would be!

The Badge-R

The badger is just a ‘Badge – R’; a badge to symbolise how society has become and the direction we follow is glum. We can all take our ‘Badge – R’ and start to change who we are and how we live our lives.

So what about the ‘R’ on our Badge? Well, the ‘R’ is Respect. Respect each other, respect animals and our environment. The ‘R’ is any colour you choose, but the Badge remains as is – black, and white, and shades of grey. Bring the ‘Badge – R’ into the day and night and seven days a week. No more will it be nocturnal, undercover and discrete.

Bring vibrancy with communities united

Find the freedom to unite when our colours are so bright that they shine our very person. Someone who can change the colours to suit society's long term needs and bring vibrancy with communities united. To create a collective effort to re-connect society that respects our many differences.

A mission statement that we could all adhere to is to stand proud, be counted, and make a difference to your community. Share your dreams, skills, voice, and ventures. Bring communities back to the community and see what we all offer to one and other.

Society will flourish when people connect with real people, not the virtual or the pretend personas we see so much of in the media. Embrace individuality and remove the ‘I want to be like’ or the self-validation through the myriad of social media platforms. Be like yourself; it is the only way to be. You shall inspire, innovate and encourage individuality.

Badgers will always be badgers, sheep will always be sheep, but you can be who you are, a person with your thoughts, ideas, presence, and ambition. Step out of the night and raise your head and smile. You have found you and the freedom to unite.

By Linda Jane Newby, PhD

Find more powerful installations of metaphorical stories that bring a different perception to the hidden wounds from abuse within the body and in society. Author page

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