Who would have thought 14years ago that I would at this hour be sitting up at my computer starting to write my blog about my celebrant work. I guess we all have to begin somewhere. It was way back then I hardly knew how to use a computer, let alone much about the life of a celebrant.
As they say, life is a journey and one never knows what is around the corner. Maybe it is just as well!
I often think when planning a holiday it is not always the destination that is so grand but the actual journey.
The people I meet and the places I've past through on the way and the experiences that I have had, which have enriched my life.
My experience as a celebrant has taught me alot about who I am and how I connect with other folk.
Having trained as a nurse at the young age of 17years I have learnt alot about life,death, grief, loss and pain and also about joy and happiness. I have also learnt alot about physical pain and emotional pain as well and how death is very much a part of life.
As I matured I realised just how important it became to celebrate all those milestones. My 21st birthday, engagement, marriage, children's births, christenings, and all those wonderful family events.
Then there were the sad occassions, the death of my pets and later the death of my parents.
It was at my father's funeral as I sat and listened to his eulogy that I decided that this is a pathway that I would like to pursue.
So I can now say 'THANK YOU DAD', it's been a great journey and I haven't yet arrived at my destination....
Also a big thankyou to those people who have trusted me and given me the privilege to officiate at that significant milestone in your life, you too will forever be remembered as I turn over the pages of my memory book!.
We are all on a journey together....
To the center of the universe...
Look deep
Into yourself, into another,
It is to the center which is everywhere
That is the holy journey...
First you need only look,
Notice and honor the radiance of
Everything about you:
Play in this universe... Tend..
All those shining things around you:
The smallest plant, the creatures and objects in your care.
Be gentle and nurture. Listen....
As we experience and accept
All that we really are...
We grow in care.
We begin to embrace others
As ourselves, and learn to live
As one amongest many.
...... Anne Hillman.
The wedding of William and Catherine in Westminster Abbey certainly delighted us all. Although viewed by millions it still remained an intimate affair along with all the pomp and ceremony of the British tradition. Catherine entered the Abbey with a beautiful smile on her face and blossomed into a fully pledged Royal as William's wife. I think every bride feels like a Princess as she arrives looking spectacular in that beautiful dress and gazes towards her handsome Prince. As a Marriage Celebrant I get great pleasure witnessing this event as the couple arrive and are ready to engage in their ceremony.
