![]() ![]() Not so the penguin, which is why they are revered in many cultures as resilient, hardworking, community- focussed, determined, and fearless. Truly one of the world's most challenging environments, thousands of the world’s species are helpless when it comes to oceans and vast icy wastes. These fascinating creatures are masters of a different kind of flight – underwater. ![]() To be -less something usually means inferior in some way, but if you’ve ever met a penguin, you’d be hard pushed to say they were a subordinate animal. Flight birds are usually bestowed with the powers of freedom and glory because they can soar high above the world penguins belong to that class of “ flightless” birds, the “less” part aiding condemnation throughout history. This may seem like an unlikely inclusion, but perhaps that’s because so few of us are aware of their meaning for many others across the world. Courtesy of Francisco Arnela, Unsplash The Penguin Let’s take a look at some of the more familiar and not so familiar species we hold as our saviors in dark times. The primary reason for this is their ability to fly, to be “free”, but even those birds that we strangely class as flightless, almost as if it were a disability, have come to symbolize great meaning. Birds have been used as symbols of freedom, hope, spirit, transition, and new opportunities since time immemorial, in every culture, in every era. Only the most catastrophic storm can silence its song, and all we need to do is listen to it.Ī powerful metaphor, Dickinson’s bird of hope echoes throughout history. Hope, Dickinson says, is within us, and perches there like a bird in our soul, singing throughout our lives, never asking for anything in return. This three-stanza poem is a masterclass in meter, effect, and emotion, and is rightly studied every year on curricula throughout the educational sphere. ![]() "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson. ![]()
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