Mel Pledger

Mel Pledger’s prologue to “B.O.L.L.O.C.K.S. to That, I Choose to Shine!”

It is said that in order to train an elephant, it is tethered by the leg to a very tall tree while it is still very small. Of course, the elephant is not used to being tied up and spends a long time tugging at the rope to get free. Elephants are naturally very strong, and this is why a very strong rope, and a very tall tree are necessary for this part of their education. No matter how hard it pulls, how many times, and in whatever direction, the baby elephant is unable to break free. Eventually it simply gives in and stops trying.

As the elephant grows, thinner cord and smaller posts replace the thick rope and tall tree that were first used to keep the baby in check. This balance continues to shift, until eventually the adult elephant will remain tethered by a piece of twine attached to a small peg in the ground. Why? Simply because it had learned to believe it couldn’t escape.

As human beings we are conditioned in much the same way. For a variety of reasons and through an endless array of methods – family, education, work, friends, society, media… you name it. We learn to shut ourselves down and dance to different tunes in order to fit in, be accepted, find love or be good enough. In many cases we do it just to survive.

Eventually, when we realise that despite our best-efforts life isn’t turning out the way we planned, we can start to notice what it is that has kept us stuck. Questions like “how did I get here?” and “is this all there is to life?” become more frequent, and a sense of unrest starts niggling away.

This is what we, here at DNA Light Up, fondly refer to as BOLLOCKS. Far from giving us all an excuse for gratuitous swearing (not only is it a word for male genitalia, Google Dictionary describes it as “nonsense: rubbish, used to express contempt or disagreement, or as an exclamation of annoyance” with the Urban Dictionary boasting thirteen different interpretations of the word!) it is actually a robust and trade- marked acronym with a powerful message:

This book is a collection of stories from everyday people who have done just that. The Bollocks that each of our authors have faced and dealt with, are as beautifully unique as the voices that tell these stories. The themes are ones that are prevalent in today’s society. Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, addiction are all words that can just trip off the tongue, not because the seriousness of these conditions are in any doubt, rather because they are so common in today’s society that everyone at some point will either know someone who has suffered from one of these illnesses or has been affected themselves.

The purpose of this book is to raise awareness of this modern-day epidemic, and to offer hope that there are solutions. DNA Light Up came to life through my own personal despair. Exhausted by life and with no more fight left, something happened that changed my life and caused me to reconsider the things I’d believed about myself and about life for over forty years.

This is not a sales pitch for the work. This is a spark of light for humanity. The book alone is intended to boost you, our reader, simply by reading and identifying with the stories inside. All profits from the sale of each book go to fund our pro-bono work so we can take our work to people and places who otherwise would have no way to access some- thing that can change their lives for the better. If you feel inspired by the book, come on over and take a look at our website where you’ll find more stirring stories and can learn more about who we are, what we do, and meet our growing team of Activators and Ambassadors.

Thank you for buying this book. Thank you for identifying with our authors. Thank you for being here and making a difference.