Well, it's my blog so I will! Let's see what happens when I share with the world that, when it comes to the Queen and the Jubilee celebrations, I'm a little bit...
...disconnected.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good party and I'll not pour water on anyone else's parade. I'll certainly not turn down the 2 extra days holiday, thank you very much!
But you see, I'm not from here. You may or may not know it but I'm from New Zealand and have been living in England for 11 years now. Some could argue that being from a Commonwealth country which puts the Queen firmly at the top of our country's hierarchy is reason plenty to feel all patriotic and a-buzz with Jubilee fever.
Perhaps if I was a generation older, I might but my youth was peppered with debate and conversation about New Zealand becoming an independent nation. I don't know if it will ever happen but I bet if you asked the 'youth' of NZ today if there is any purpose in having the Queen as their Head of State, they would say, 'nah man, we don't need her, aye bro' or something like that. And I would probably have to agree.
With each generation, England is becoming less and less the 'motherland' and NZ is more and more developing its own identity, culture and heritage- unique to that of its parent; as we would expect of our children to become their own person, unique and themselves and not replicas of ourselves .
Some too could argue that living in a country for 11 years would give me 'entitlement' to feeling as though I could participate fully within my community and adopted country's celebrations. Perhaps 11 years is enough time to embrace the monarchy and all it entails. Perhaps.
I will save the 'what does the Queen actually do?' conversation for another time but after reading this article, I wanted to explore the relevance of the celebrations for me as the children in East London have been learning its relevance for them.
For me, it is about recognising heritage. What makes you you is all that has come before you and in my line of work, often you can't know where to go if you don't understand where you've come from. Understanding all the parts and intricacies that make up yourself, help to create a future that is authentic and true to YOU. Knowing your country's history, its make-up, will help to understand your own inner workings a little better.
It is about community. There is precious little of this 'these days'. Families are split and scattered; neighbours can be people you don't know, probably haven't met and only sometimes smile at in passing; some traditional faith communities are dwindling. People don't have their people anymore. Life cannot be lived truly fully if you are not connected in some way to others. People need people. It is part of being healthy, of being part of this world. Feel a part of some sort of community or tribe and you will undoubtedly feel better for it.
It is about fun and laughter. There is not enough of this either, I have decided! There is so much every day that we could be sad or down about, and that we should acknowledge and work to improve or change in what ever way we can. However, that does not need to consume or define us. Happiness is part of being healthy too as much as a sense of belonging is, as much as giving for the sake of giving is, as much as eating well and exercising regularly is.
Fingers crossed the sun will stick around for next weekend as it is certainly helping lift the mood of what was potentially becoming a rather gloomy nation, but I hope there is more hilarity, community and sense of belonging next weekend than sunburned shoulders and strings of bunting. I will be there on the village green. I may not be manically waving a Union Jack flag, but I will be acknowledging the part this monarch has played in my history, I will be hanging out with my people and I will be laughing uproariously.
I would love to hear what the Jubilee Celebrations mean to you, so please share below.
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