Farewell to the Queen
With a Lesson for Us All
September 8, 2022
We’ll leave quietly.
Elizabeth Regina II (1926-2022)
Dearest Friends,
And Her Gracious Majesty, Queen Elizabeth did just that today; while the world wasn’t looking, she quietly and elegantly slipped away. During her life, the Queen was the embodiment of grit, gumption, and grace—an iconic epitome of a Swell Dame. I loved, admired, and respected Queen Elizabeth. She taught us all by her example how to get through the tough times: Keep Calm and Carry On.
Only two days ago, the Queen appointed Britain’s new Prime Minister, the 15th, during her seventy-year reign. She looked frail, leaning on her cane, her grey sweater hung loosely on her small frame– the grandmother of the world – she was 96, but her eyes were twinkling, and the warmth of Granny’s familiar smile reassured us of her presence. And then, we turned around, and she was gone.
We should ponder this in our hearts.
Since ancient times, September has been viewed as the beginning of the new year, a time for reflection and resolution. “What we need in autumn is an emotional or spiritual shot in the arm,” Katharine Elizabeth Fite wrote in Good Housekeeping in 1949, urging the beginning of a new tradition: personal and positive resolutions in September.
“Why do you suppose so many of us waste the autumn? “Why don’t we make the effort that would provide something new in our lives?” January’s negative resolutions “are made when we are worn out in spirit, body, and pocketbooks, and have no real urge to do anything but rest.”
It seems to me that January resolutions are about will; September aspirations are about authentic desires. What do you want more or less of in your life, so that you can love the life you’re leading? It could be as simple as seeing friends again, setting aside time to adventures with your children while they still want your companionship, rekindling a sense of romance in your daily round, calling a solitary hour a day your own, or just taking more walks in the dazzling sunshine.
Over at The Art of Starting Over, we’re continuing our exploration of what it is that truly makes us happy by dwelling in the peace and plenty of period films, the role that historical romances can inspire in our daily life, and discovering “the woman you want to be.”
The beauty of autumnal inspirations fueled by imagination, pluck, and purpose is that they’re private, no one else knows we’re making them, so we can’t be criticized and have our dreams crushed.
There was no woman in the world who knew more about the importance of private hours in a public life than HRH Queen Elizabeth II. God bless her. She left us many lessons on living an authentic life and I’m very grateful for her inspiration.
XO
Sarah Ban Breathnach