I don’t think I’ve been less involved with Girl Guiding in my life and yet Lady Baden-Powell popped into my head today. Guides came up the other week in some sort of conversation and I was irritated by that person’s association of them with cadets and army type activities, the Girl guides have always been slightly off to the side as far as that goes. It’s all about service to one’s community and that kind of thing rather than the more military types of service implied by Scouting. I’m still a fan of that concept, the idea of giving back to the people around you, though the ways that that idea is open to abuse seems more obvious to me now at forty one than it ever was at fourteen. Christ, I started this blog twenty years ago and I was only seven years off being fourteen… it’s one way of marking time I suppose.
Thinking day though, it’s about reflecting on what being a Guide has meant to you, and now I’m wondering who the patron is given that the Queen died last year. Maybe there isn’t one anymore, the Queen was big into Girl guides and I don’t think any of the current royals are likely to be into it in the same way. The idea that service to ones community isn’t an archaic notion doesn’t seem to be en vogue right now, you get to define what service is and for that matter who your community is. I’m a bit burnt out for that at the moment, everytime I seem to be getting my head back from the parapet of burnt out mental health disaster I take another knock it seems. Christmas was a bit of a wash, I was away for Imbolc so it was far smaller than the usual sushi-fest and even Father Valentine ended up being too much, I’ve not even been in the mood to be a pancake fairy this year. So, Thinking Day has me doing some reflecting I guess, on what and how and who. I think my community needs to be a bit small this year, just till I’ve managed to get myself past all the knocks, done a bit of rebuilding.
Maybe if I can get myself a bit more together I might head over to Bowerham Girl Guides and see if they need a hand again, it’s been years since I had my warrant but that might be fun. No helping other people until I’ve got my own oxygen mask on securely though. Helping others is great and gives a boost but I really need to get a handle on my own stuff first.
