• Queen For(ever) a Day

    • April 12, 2010 11:07 am

    Dearest Readers,

    Home sweet home after an 11-day journey. The house-sitter filled the apartment with flowers and ironed my pillowcases. Never in my five-year history of using house-sitters have I ever come home to such graciousness. I feel like a Queen.

    That must be why I dreamt about the Queen last night. Yes, the Queen. Elizabeth II of England, the current monarch whose face appears on our Canadian money.

    In the dream, she and I became pals, riding to the grocery store together in her royal coach, talking about the house she stayed in the last time she was in Whitehorse (in the late ’50s) and why the Royals are so popular in the NWT (when I was in that great Territory last year Royal fever was everywhere).

    It wasn’t exactly easy making small talk with Her Majesty. I was trying to be myself as well as respectful, which made for an uncertain sense of being, but in the end we managed to cobble together a decent conversation as we headed for the Extra Foods store down the road.

    I’m thinking the dream has to do with self-worth. Some of the wind was knocked out of my sails last week and it’s been a steady helm back to full speed ahead ever since. Arriving home last night to find the apartment looking and feeling like a 5-star hotel brought up the question, “Do I deserve this?”

    The good news is I think I do. The even better news is I think you do, too.

    I don’t think I deserve abundance because I’m special or different or working so much harder than anyone else. I believe we deserve abundance because we are Queens and Kings, all of us.

    The Queen of England is no better or worse than any of us. She doesn’t deserve her riches any more than we do. She doesn’t NOT deserve them either. Every single one of us, no matter who we are, no matter what we look like, no matter what we do or don’t do, say or don’t say, deserves the kind of riches afforded to royalty.

    Now, you might think I’m talking about castles and jewels and great wealth. I’m not. Well, I am. But metaphorically speaking. The riches we deserve are Unconditional Love and Abundance. Unconditional Love and Abundance are the birthright of every single person that enters this little planet we call Earth.

    How do I know this? By what authority can I make this statement? By Divine Authority. That’s right. Celia McBride, D.A.

    Try something. Set yourself on a rigorous path of healing to free yourself of the shame that keeps you bound to fear. Embark on a spiritual journey that involves prayer and meditation. Each day, make it your practice to seek the Highest Wisdom that is within you. Listen for the Truth. You, too, will come to know It.

    Divine Authority is not for the “chosen” few. You know that expression “Many are called, few are chosen”? There’s a better version: “All are called. Few choose to follow.”

    Choosing to follow the Divine leads to a deeper understanding of who we really are. We are Royal, in every sense of the word.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I am a Queen. I am a King. The riches of Unconditional Love and Abundance are my birthright. Today I will accept them knowing this is the Highest Truth of All.

    Striving

    • January 13, 2010 10:33 am

    Dearest Readers,

    As part of the project I’m currently working on, I have spent the last 3 days in a recording studio overseeing the artistic direction of a Yukon Anthem, which I co-wrote with a brilliant young musician named Bryce Kulak. We’ve been having a ball.

    I’m a closeted songwriter. People often say to me, “It’s so amazing that you’re actually living your dream!” But the truth is, my dream is to be a rock star. I love singing and I love writing songs but my attempts to play guitar made it clear that I was better off staying in the closet, singing my little ditties to my sweater collection.

    All that to say, having the opportunity to sit in a recording studio and observe the bevy of hugely talented Yukon musicians we’ve brought in to sing on the anthem is the absolute bees knees.

    The song we’ve written is called “Live in Peace”. Listening to all of these singers bring the words to life, over and over, hour after hour, is not only inspiring, it’s sounding the call. Live in Peace. This is a call to all of us.

    And it’s a high call. Perhaps the highest call of all. Because in order to live in Peace we must practice Unconditional Love. Unconditional Love means no judgment. This is a tall order. Okay, it’s bigger than a tall order. It’s an XXX-Large-Super-Size-Venti order. Which is why I call it a practice. Because we can’t do it perfectly.

    When I was sixteen I did an Outward Bound course. Outward Bound is an outdoor “school” that teaches leadership and team-building skills. I did the course (a 21-day adventure north of Thunder Bay, ON) over twenty years ago but I have never forgotten their motto: “To Serve, to Strive, and not to Yield.”

    I love this. When I think of the call to Live in Peace, the call to live free of judgment and intolerance toward ourselves and others, I think of the second part of the Outward Bound motto. To Strive.

    The dictionary on this computer describes striving this way: “Make great efforts to achieve or obtain something.” Great efforts. Effort means “a vigorous or determined attempt.” Attempt.

    There is nothing about perfection in these definitions. Just make a go of it. Give it a shot. Do the best you can. Practice.

    When we present the show next month our song will be launched into the world for your listening pleasure. I hope you sing it with us.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I can strive to practice Unconditional Love. When I make that effort, which is great, I get to experience what it truly means to Live in Peace.

    Love Love Love

    • October 31, 2009 5:37 am

    I started this blog little over a month ago for a few reasons:

    One, the cat woke me up at an ungodly hour and, fuming mad, I said a little prayer to help me not to strangle him; Two, I had just seen Julie & Julia, which enlightened me to the idea that a blog could be inspiring; Three, I heard a quiet, little voice from within saying, “Get up and start a blog.”

    I’ve been posting every single day (except Sundays) since then and there are currently 5 followers and an unknown number of other readers.

    The idea behind the blog is simple: Inspire me, inspire you.

    The feeling I get upon waking, in anticipation of writing something, as well how I feel after I post, plus comments I’ve received from readers, confirm the purpose of the blog as being fulfilled.

    So far, so good.

    Though I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t get anxious about posting. “What am I going to write about? What the heck am I supposed to say to inspire people today?”

    This goes against everything I teach when I lead writing workshops: We never have to think of an idea. All we have to do is stay open and let the idea come through us.

    So here is what is coming through:

    I am in Port Hope, Ontario, to visit my maternal grandparents. My grandfather, who is in his mid-nineties, is bed-ridden, which I did not know until I arrived last night. My grandmother is diabetic and chronically depressed. They still live in their own home and have (at the moment) 24-hour care.

    When I go there today I will sit with them and I will be a listener. I will be of support in whatever way I can. I will be present with them in the spirit of unconditional love.

    Believe me, there is a lot that I could say to them. I could tell them what I think about their parenting skills, I could give them advice about spiritual healing, I could suggest many changes they could make in order to feel better.

    But this is not my job. These things are none of my business.

    My only job is to love them. And to be a loving presence in their lives. For one day.

    Not easy. But right.

    And thank you for reading this message, by the way. Knowing you are out there keeps me going.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: It’s easy to tell other people how we think they ought to be living. The more difficult path is to simply be a loving presence. By taking the path of unconditional love I bring peace to the situation and to my own heart.