... respects all living things and takes care of the world around her.

This is the easy one, right? Just do a bit of recycling, remember not to kick puppies, and you'll be fine. Except that a Guide promises to do her best with all parts of the Law and not just to take the easiest way.

It's perhaps the most topical of the Laws. While all of the Laws are relevant to Guides today as much as they were to Guides in the past, this Law is the one which comes to mind most of all. What with the evidence of climate change showing in the floods close to home and the huge winter storms in America, the environment and the world around us seems more precious than ever.



One of the things it seems hardest to get any group of Guides to do, no matter what Unit you're in, is the tidying up at the end of the session. My own Unit is no exception. I was so proud of one of my Guides recently, though - when tidying up and taking some rubbish away, she asked where the recycling bin was. Unfortunately, our hall doesn't have a recycling bin - something we need to address in the future.

We also need to work more with animals through the Unit. My Guides are rural girls - almost all of them have pets, or contact with animals like horses. It can be a good way to get Guides out-of-doors and back to nature. We also have a local Dogs Trust centre, which can be a good way to lead the girls into community service. Plus there's always the chance to earn an extra badge!

But what do I do to keep this Law? I try only to buy ethically sourced cosmetics - I avoid shampoo and other products that have been tested on animals wherever possible. I've looked after numerous animals while house-sitting for various friends and relatives. I recycle as much as I can. I've been involved in environmental projects whenever I've had the opportunity. I don't litter. I buy Green energy and try to turn off the lights. But it's not enough - the only way we can look after the world around us is if everyone not just the Guides pulls together.

   

...polite and considerate

Being polite and considerate, all the time, is not the easiest thing in the world to do. By the time you've become an adult, you no longer have a parent or guardian following you round everywhere reminding you to say 'Please' and 'Thank you' two seconds before you actually have the chance.* If you're not careful, it can also be very easy to over-do politeness, so that people can begin to think you're mocking them or after something.

When I was about 15, I went to stay with a penpal in France as part of a school exchange programme. While I was there, I got the distinct impression that my penpal wasn't interested in having a small, shy English penfriend, and would have preferred someone more outgoing and chatty. By the time I arrived home, my parents had received an email from my penpal's parents telling them how rude and inconsiderate I was, and that they would not be sending their daughter to stay with me. At the time, I had some, but by no means fluent French. The family was loud and boisterous, and my penpal was inclined to ignore the very quiet English girl who'd been plonked in their midst. (For those of you who think that I could never be that shy, believe me - at 15, in a strange country - I really was). Politeness and consideration go two ways, like respect and friendship. If someone appears to be being rude, don't just assume their trying to upset you or that they have no manners. They may be embarrassed to speak a language their unfamiliar with or struggle to understand. They may have other issues to deal with that you don't know about. Don't be insulted - try to work with them instead.


*My mum still does this whenever I go home or am in her company for more than five minutes. I'm sure that if I ever have kids, I'll do exactly the same.

...a good friend and sister to all Guides.

Despite the fact that this blog has taken longer than planned, this post has fallen at a really good time. In two weeks it will be Thinking Day (22nd February). This is a time when members of the Guiding movement around the world remember that they are part of a global network. Money is often raised to help less advantaged Guides, and donated to the Friendship Fund: http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/get_involved/support_us/girlguiding_uk_funds/guide_friendship_fund.aspx

So that's the world view. But what about closer to home? For one thing, to take this Law literally, it means we have to make sure that we treat every other girl and woman as if they are a Guide. Unless we are in uniform, there's pretty much no way to tell who's a Guide and who isn't. When the Law was first written, members of the movement very often wore their Promise badges in public, but that's much rarer. So that means that we should treat other girls and women with respect, friendship, and kindness. We also have to be prepared to help those in need.

So those are the high ideals. Really, we shouldn't be so specific about treating Guides with this level of deference and excluding Scouts, and men and boys generally. However, this Law is a really good tool if you happen to be a Guide Leader whose Guides have problematic behaviour. It's a message to which you can point to say to the girls, "You promised to behave well towards your fellow Guides". It can also be a starting point when thinking about issues like bullying or friendship generally.

So how do I try to be a good friend and sister to all Guides? At the moment my actions are quite limited. I run a Unit to the best of my abilities and try to provide an engaging, safe, supportive space for my girls, young leaders, and fellow leaders. I try to give them as many opportunities as I can. I try to make them aware of the difficulties other Units in the UK and abroad face, financially and practically. There's always more that can be done.

...faces challenge and learns from her experiences

So, once again I've been away from the blog for a while. If I'm ever going to finish the full Senior Section programme, though, I have to finish this blog.

Anyone who knows me will also know that I'm not the kind of person to turn down a challenge. I think that challenge can be a good think. It forces us to stretch beyond what we would normally achieve and to face up to thing we find difficult. Challenge is different for everyone. For some people, a challenge can be to face a long-held fear. For others, it can be learning or trying something new. Sometimes, we problems are just thrown in our paths and have to be dealt with.

Part of the reason why I've been away from the blog for so long is that I'm in the middle of completing what has been an immense challenge for me. My PhD is coming to an end, which means paperwork, formatting, editing, and last minute panics. The other reason is that when you put a project like this blog down, it can be hard to pick it up again. You think, "I'll do it next week - it'll be fine!", and only several weeks (or months) later do you realise that the deadline is approaching.

Learning from experience isn't quite the same as facing challenge. Challenge can test your limits, and you can learn whether you can defeat a challenge or let it pass you by. For me, learning to say "no" to some challenges is the hardest part of this Guide Law. In the past I've taken on more than I should have. I've always coped, but while I've learned, achieved, and benefited, I've also had more stress that is healthy. Sometimes the best way to deal with challenge is to look it in the eye and say, "Not today, thanks". But then again, it looks so interesting...


P.S. Here's a link to how I've managed to stay sane through my PhD.

...helpful and uses her time and abilities wisely

Using my time and abilities wisely is something I find hard to balance. I seem to flip between doing everything at once and doing nothing. At the moment, for example, I'm writing this blog, printing out handouts for a paper I'm presenting tomorrow in Cambridge, changing the printer cartridge, thinking about the cardigan I'm knitting, repeatedly staring out of the window, and wishing I was playing Plants vs Zombies instead.

After I finished my Queen's Guide Award, I planned to start saying 'no' much more often. Having moved away from the places where people know I'll agree to help out with pretty much anything, I thought things would be simpler. To some degree they are. I'm no longer a student representative in my department, or a tutor in a Halls of Residence, or the secretary on a committee. Unfortunately, though this saves me more time to dedicate to my thesis, Guides, and my partner (not necessarily in that order), I now have more time to procrastinate (hence Plants vs Zombies).

As for being helpful, all I can say is that I try my best. I'm trying (not massively successfully) to be tidier around the house - except in my office, which needs clutter so that I can actually work in it. I try to help if I see a problem, but there are times when it seems inappropriate to interfere. I did manage to do some first aid this week and I didn't even cause the injury in the first place (and for once, I wasn't the casualty!). Being helpful is an opportunistic thing sometimes - being proactive isn't always using your time wisely.

...honest, reliable and can be trusted

So I pretty much failed on the 'reliability' part. I did actually write a post the week after my first attempt, but I never got round to illustrating it, and so I didn't put it up. Then because I didn't put it up, I almost abandoned the blog. But not quite.

Last weekend, I took part in Innovate Cardiff. In case you don't know, Innovate is the Girlguiding Youth Forum, for Senior Section members aged 16-25. This year was my last chance to attend Innovate, so I really wanted to go and make the most of my remaining time in Senior Section.

And that got me thinking. I have less than five months now to complete the Senior Section programme, and to do that I have to finish this blog and stop procrastinating.

Being honest is a key part of Innovate. On the side of Senior Section, if we don't give honest answers in the workshops, Girlguiding can't improve or be fully girl-led. Girlguiding has to be honest, too - if the organisers say they're listening but aren't, there's no point to the entire exercise. By being honest with each other, both parties earn the trust and respect of each other.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

Two years ago at Innovate Accrington, which I took part in for my Queen's Guide Award, one of the workshops focussed on what Senior Section wants from the four TACs (Training and Activity Centres). This year, one of the workshops asked what Senior Section would want or expect from a survival course at the TACs, a direct response to the ideas raised in 2011.

On the other hand, the group I worked in at Innovate Accrington wanted a reform of the Guide
'Discovering Faith' badge: http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/Guides/gfibadge/badges/discoveringfaith.html .
We wanted it to focus less on a person's own faith, and more on finding out about other people's religions and beliefs. I've heard a rumour that the Interest Badges are being re-assessed soon, but nothing official - without feedback on what is happening now, how can we know if we're being listened to?

Honesty, reliability, and trustworthiness allow respect to develop between people, but they can't always be one way. In life in and outside of Guiding, they have to be mutual. If a person says they will do something, and then doesn't do it, why shouldn't other people behave in the same way? In the end, someone has to take responsibility, and other people have to continue what they set in motion. It's up to everyone.

The Beginning

Ok, first things first. I've been in the Girl Guides since I was a Brownie (I got to sneak in early at six-and-a-half, because there was a new Pack being set up just down the road from me). I was a Guide with 3rd Holy Trinity, Darwen, and then a Young Leader and an Assistant Leader with the same Unit.

So what does this have to do with my starting to blog for the First Time Ever? Well, I'm twenty-five now, and I've nearly finished the whole Ranger/Senior Section programme. I've got my Queen's Guide Award (yay!) and I'm due to be presented with the Commonwealth Award and the Chief Guide's Challenge soon. That's basically all of the badges and awards you can earn in Senior Section (apart from the Senior Section Permit, but let's not get into that). But I haven't finished the programme completely. I still have one Octant of the Senior Section programme to finish.

If you want to know what the Octants are, here's a link to the Girlguiding website: http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/seniorsection/whatcanido/lookwider/theoctants.html

I've been stuck on the Personal Values Octant for ages. For most of the Phase 3 sections of the Octants (see the link above), it's straightforward - get an award/qualification, spend thirty hours on something, or teach your peers something. But Personal Values is different. It's personal. So how can you get an award or spend a countable thirty hours on it? You can teach other people if you belong to an organised religion, I suppose, but I don't.


My plan, then:

You may have heard or read that the Guide Promise (not oath) is changing. One part which stays exactly the same is the part where we promise 'To keep the Guide Law'. There are actually six parts to the Law:

• A Guide is honest, reliable and can be trusted. 
• A Guide is helpful and uses her time and abilities wisely. 
• A Guide faces challenge and learns from her experiences. 
• A Guide is a good friend and sister to all Guides. 
• A Guide is polite and considerate. 
• A Guide respects all living things and takes care of the world around her.

What I plan to do is to focus each week for the next six weeks on one aspect of the Guide Law, in order, and blog about the results. Here we go!