At a friend’s 40th birthday party Last night I was reminded of Kate Blanchett’s performance in Elizabeth: The Golden Age……She potrays strength in an incredibly feminine way, she had all that on her shoulders, yet she remained beautiful and dignified. My friend (lets call her Elizabeth here) said she had a surprise for everyone!!!!
As we arrived at this rather lovely restaurant in Italy we find a stunning table setting good enough for a queen. My first thought was, wow, this is going to be a great party….but where is the host? Whilst people continued to arrive, I noticed that everyone was looking around for Elizabeth, but she was nowhere to be seen….As we all sat down, the lights were dimmed and all of a sudden – rather load – ‘Here comes the bride’ music….Total confusion waved through the guests, where is the man, where is the man, I hear in the background, I did not even know she had a boyfriend at the moment!! Elizabeth floated in, in the most beautiful wedding gown, hair tumbling down in curls I did not know she had, and flowers to die for. But, where was then man….
There was no man, in true Elizabeth I style, she married herself……She read out her reasons for doing so, above all self acceptance, commitment to live in the present and be authentic to who she is. I felt touched by her courage and dignity…….I left that party feeling humble myself, repeating a mantra in silence, ‘I accept myself….I accept myself….I accept myself’..
So as women in an industry where we are under constant scrutiny from our clients and peers, take a moment to just look in the mirror and say ‘I accept myself’.
To finish, a clip from Elizabeth in one of her most glorious moments. Enjoy…
