This Blog, as many do, started as a post on my Facebook page. However, as the days passed I had further reflections on what was a day that shook the world, and in many respects also brought it to a standstill.
With the reminders about Lady Diana Spencer circulating across social media over the August weekend, I remember exactly where I was on that fateful day 17 years ago.
I was in Barbados and was up late that night by Bajan standards. For some reason even though there was nothing in TV it was still switched on (back in those days there were the 2 or 3 main channels and none of this 24-hour cable stuff, and the channels went off air at night).
Suddenly the TV sprung into life and there was a news broadcast saying there had been an accident but that reports were not clear about whether the Princess was injured.
When the news finally broke I cried like a baby. I cried as though a member of my own family had just passed away. I know part of that crying was because of what was going on in my own life; I was in Barbados with my then partner, trying to get over the fact that he’d had an affair so it was the holiday to try and ‘put it all behind us’ kind of thing.
The next day, and in the days to come, the locals, strangers, would come up to me around town offering their condolences because they knew I was English.
The island was flooded with newspapers that sat alongside The Nation Barbados. I remember seeing The Sun and The Daily Mirror on sale because of course the island of Barbados, known as Little England, is always awash with British tourists whatever the time of year.
Not only was it such a human tragedy on so many levels, it also seemed to be the ending of a real life fairy tale and the cutting short of a life that could have done so much good for so many.
It seems that some people are born to be lights and beacons of hope in this world. I believe that Diana was one of those people, and thankfully before her death she had found a way to shine that light across the globe.
Is it a life cut short or a light designed to burn brightly and fast?
People talk of a life cut short and I can’t help but feel that on the face of it. I also realise that many of those lights go out very early. Diana’s death was one of those Martin Luther King or President John F Kennedy moments in that people remember exactly where they were at the time and what they were doing almost to the minute. I have also come to realise that when a bright light goes out in such a big way we remember. I mean I wasn’t even alive on the day JFK was assassinated yet I remember and I still speak of him. Would their legacy have had as much impact if they had be allowed to go on to a ripe old age or would they have been moved aside when the next star and shining light came along? I don’t know the answer to that one, I can only speculate.
Is happiness a luxury?
I wasn’t in the line of work that I am now. I was a in the midst of a job that I wasn’t enjoying and getting started on the journey of becoming a Chartered Accountant, so the significance and importance of living a full life while you’re still here hadn’t even come close to hitting home because I was still in the place of hating my life, being resentful at the cards I’d been dealt, and a lot of the time hating my job, so really enjoying life seemed to be a luxury reserved for the special few.
A lot has changed for me in those intervening 17 years, and although there are a few things that I would like to go back and change if I had the chance, the joining of the dots game reminds me that many of the problems that I faced and experienced back then have led to some of my greatest triumphs and defining moments.
Reflections on life
When I look back at now in 17 years time (yes I know, scary thought) I want to again see how much life has progressed and moved forward and see how much more joy there still is and was to be had.
This week I have taken a moment to reflect on where I was back then and what my life was like. I have also taken the opportunity to ponder the following questions:
- Where is my life now?
- What have I learnt and discovered about life in those intervening years?
- If I were to go out 17 years into the future, what do I wish for my life to be like?
- If I were looking back at me now 17 years from the future (I know, stay with me!) what would I say to the me now?
- As I look back at my life overall what have been some of my biggest life lessons and how have I built upon those?
RIP beautiful lady and RIP to all of those both high profile and those working tirelessly and anonymously behind the scenes who have touched and changed lives while they walked on this earth.
I do believe that the axis of the world shifted a little bit that day in August in the direction of compassion.
Marilyn ♥
ABOUT MARILYN DEVONISH
Marilyn Devonish is a Coach, TranceFormational Leader, Freelance Writer, Global Thought Leader, and Observer of Life.
She is a Certified Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP, Hypnosis, and Time Line Therapy, a Certified PhotoReading™ Instructor, Soul Plan Reader. She is also a Practitioner of Hawaiian Huna, EmoTrance, EFT, Positive EFT, Energetic NLP, Access Bars, Access Consciousness, Past Life Regression, Future Life Progression, Archetypal Profiling, Angel Tarot Card Reader, and Reiki.
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