We woke up today to a fairy tale.
Bishop Curry was a preacher out of central casting – he stole the show. He did it by talking about the elephant in the room, love. The Royal Wedding, as cynical as I can be, was all about love. Not dresses, celebrity sightings and lemon elderflower cake. Pomp and circumstance aside, it was indeed about the power of love.
In that carriage Meghan Markle must have felt like it was a dream. As unlikely as those fairy tales read to us in childhood, she found a prince.
What does it all mean for the rest of us? On a superficial level not much. A future episode of The Crown maybe. To say we woke up at dawn and watched for the historical value is like saying you read Playboy for the articles.
Families are a mess, divorce is statistically likely and the monarchy is both is dated and ridiculous. We can easily choose to focus on that.
L+M takes a different approach.
Fairy tales are essential for healthy human development. Through fairy tales children learn about good and evil, are exposed to different cultures, and experience identification with a hero or heroine. This gave us an opportunity to dip into an adult fairy tale.
Romantic love is what made it all happen – the sense of awe, wonder and promise that is stirred by a love story. We don’t stop developing in adulthood – quite the opposite. It is the last chance to recapture the spirit of wonder and discovery. While loss and illness challenge us to constantly adapt, it is fascinating to see how we can change. Just as tragedies happen everyday, miracles and fairy tales do too.
I thank that magnificent couple for challenging norms and going for it. I hope we all thought a little bit about love today. I know I did…and it sent me on a quest for that lemon elderflower cake recipe. ❤
In these strange times we need to be reminded of love and new beginnings.