Goodbye Cynicism

People often ask how and why I became a wedding celebrant?   Well, I think my work and background in creative writing, in journalism (please, don´t hold it against me) in training adults and working with people from all walks of life, a love of people, a love of literature and the arts as well as enjoying amateur dramatics and the ability to run my own business  gave me the credentials I needed – everything up to now feels as if it has been coming naturally to this point. And being a humanist, well,  it just feels like coming home…

In my personal life, there  was a clear starting point on my journey to becoming a wedding celebrant.  Like to share it with you. If you can bear it, if it won´t bore you. Here it is:

“I was out and about with a friend the other day and,  as she was driving, I had the luxury of looking about me.  My oh my, oh my, I spotted a shiny smart car all decorated in glorious smudgy showy white blooms and crisp glossy ribbons and all looking just  so FINE ; glimpse of the smiling bride, scarlet lipstick and lacy veil and her suited and booted husband sat beside her, fizzing with pride.  I clapped my hands together and exclaimed, “Oh look, Alice, look…a wedding!  How lovely!” I heard the words come out of my mouth and was so damned near astonished that it was I who had spoken them, astonished at my own exuberance,  my bright joyful joy.  I had actually clapped my hands. I was grinning. And  the walls came down.

What a cold, greyshelled and hardened creature I was before. Sneering,snarky. Turning away. ´They’ll be sorry´. Oh, but the walls came tumbling down.”

I am sure you know Oscar Wilde’s rather sad definition of a cynic, “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.” I much prefer the more humane, kindly and thoughtful description that a cynic is a romantic who has been hurt and let down once too often.

So there you have it  – my cynicism. I somehow lately seem to have misplaced it; and no, thank you very much, I don’t  want you  to help me look for it. I’m off to help people celebrate. Here´s to hope, to faith and to love. And to broken walls.