Day 263 - Symbolism

 

SYMBOLISM

Prompt - Symbolism : Think of object, animals etc that have symbolic meaning to you.  Write about it!

We are all a mix of different talents and abilities.  With different ways of looking at the world.  Some are more adept at seeing things numerically and mathematically, some in images, others in words, or sounds or smells.  Each individual will process the same scene in different ways to all others.  Of course we are all a constantly changing mix of these attributes, but most people have one or two of those traits which are most prominent in their way of thinking and of learning about their surroundings.

So what's all that got to do with symbolism?  It's my way of getting round to saying that the visual is not my dominant way of thinking.  I am largely a words person, sometimes numerical, sometimes sound.  My visual imagination is comparatively limited, and I use images less than others.  So I don't really think much in terms of symbols.

Of course there are some symbols which make me react more than others, and I'll come to a couple of those in a minute.  But I don't have any tendency to think of animals symbolically, except in their relation to the kind of imagery used in writing, especially in times long gone by.  When asked to think of the symbols that mean something personal to me I struggle to come up with an answer.  Or at least a consistent one.  There are various symbols at various times that will have meaning, or objects with which I imbue symbolic resonances, but it's hard to think of a constant symbol in my life.

So in tackling this subject I found myself pondering on two symbols that reflect my political, and emotional, thinking right now, and have for the past seven years.  One I react negatively to.  The blue, red and white UK flag, aka The Butcher's Apron.  I found it more offensive with every year that passes, because what it stands for is less and less tolerable.  The UK is a broken institution, and that flag is now a symbol of the ongoing disasters of brexshit.

But my positive choice of image is the one I've chosen to head up this post.  It was created by Stewart Bremner for the 2014 Independence campaign, and became one of the most recognisable images of the time.  And it has become a part of my life.  On small pictures around the flat, on my favourite mugs, on a tee shirt.  The image of Bella Caledonia is a powerful symbol, one associated with seeing independence for this country as the chance to create a much improved, fairer society, than the one the UK fosters.  Where greed and inequality, symbolised by the monarchy, are no longer the dominant factors they have become in Westminster.

A symbol that hints at a better future is a symbol worth keeping.