These days, I find myself drifting to thoughts of the life of Queen Elizabeth.
I have never been a Royal Watcher, but I am intrigued by the historical significance of her seven decades as Queen of England. Like many of us, I have never known a time when that position was not filled by a woman. I have enjoyed the memes about the new Monarch—a King—and how odd that sounds to our ears. (My favorite was the tweet: “Can’t believe they are going to make a MAN queen. This woke nonsense has gone too far.”)
Her life—whether we are aware of it or not; whether we agree with some of the things she has said or done or not—has shaped the way we expect at least that one corner of the world to look and feel.
And, for those of us still reeling from the witness that another person can take on the role of telling a woman what is best for her own body, the witness of this woman and all her strength stands out as a reminder of the depth and breath of woman’s influence on the world. There are a lot of women that I would turn to as role models and before her death, I would not have included Queen Elizabeth as one of them. But, these past few days, looking at pictures in the news of who she was as a wife, mother and grandmother, and how she lived out her role as Queen of England, I could feel the strength of her witness in the world—something that will continue long past her death—and something that I feel in my own soul.
I’m finding it hard to put into words what I’m feeling because my feelings are not connected to the brain and my ability to wordsmith. It goes deep into my soul as a woman who recognizes just how much the world needs our voice, our strength, our legacy—regardless of whether we were born to be a Queen or born to be something other. Since almost all of us will concede it is the “something other” that we were born for, we have an invitation to make it our own and live out our mission and vision with Spirit as a Companion and the life and legacy of others to stand behind and build us up on the journey.
May we pause in this moment and claim the task that is before us, whatever that may be.
Good to hear from Joy!