Heart of Gold
This month, in my personal life, I’m working with the theme of kindness and compassion. Although I feel they’re qualities that are natural to me, they’re definitely worth bringing to the spotlight. Kindness is so underrated in this world and yet, with kindness, it makes life so much nicer for all involved.
- If you think about kindness, is it a quality you’d identify with yourself?
- Can you name five people in your life who are inherently kind?
- What does kindness mean to you?
It was Shakespeare who wrote, in Henry V, about a ‘heart of gold’. What do we mean by this expression? Gold has traditionally been considered valuable. And the heart? Well, it’s centre of our emotional life and well-being. It therefore suggests someone who is good, kind and generous.
We live in a world that’s fast, fast, fast and based on chasing material goals. It would seem, on the surface, there’s little space for an old fashioned value like kindness. I’d argue that unless kindness is at the heart of all we do, then any material goals will end up feeling hollow. Is it surprising that so many people rely on drugs and alcohol to get through the working week? What if your life was steeped in kindness? What if, in your working life, you lived, moved and held your being in kindness? Might you feel differently about life itself? Is it possible you’d want to lean into life that bit more because it feels so good?
Sprinkling seeds of kindness wherever we go, and to whomever we meet, not only changes their lives but ours too. It has to! Living with a generous heart shifts our vibrational frequency. It doesn’t take long to see just how interconnected we all are.
It is hoped that people who are attracted to celebrant training with us at Heart-led Celebrants have hearts of gold. And if they don’t? Kindness is inherent in our celebrant-training curriculum. Of this, we can be sure: you will not be the same person after you’ve successfully completed your training as a Heart-led Celebrant. You aren’t just training for a new career. You’re learning a whole new way of being in this world. A world that needs you, your awareness, and your heart of gold.
Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson (voice and presentation coach for celebrants) are tutors at Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training. Veronika Robinson is a specialist in ritual and has been officiating beautiful, bespoke ceremonies since 1995. She’s a certified Infant Loss Professional; founder of Penrith’s first Death Café; is certified in Self-harm and Suicide Awareness and Prevention; is a celebrant for the charity Gift of a Wedding; and mentors celebrants around the world in all aspects of celebrancy including mastering life stories and love stories. Veronika also runs workshops and retreats for celebrants.
Alongside celebrant training and mentoring, Veronika Robinson officiates beautiful and bespoke ceremonies across Cumbria, from Cornwall to Callanish, and internationally. She earned her Master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of Cumbria.
Veronika is the author of many books both fiction and non-fiction, including the popular Celebrant Collection:
Write That Eulogy;
The Successful Celebrant;
Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner;
Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner;
The Blessingway;
The Gentle Celebrant’s Guide: Funerals For Children;
The Discrimination-free Celebrant;
The Celebrant’s Guide to the Five Elements.
Also in 2024:
Every Couple Has a Love Story: A Wedding Celebrant’s Guide to Creating Compelling Narrative from Once Upon A Time to “I do!”
You can also find the wonderful library of magazines Veronika edited, here: www.thecelebrantmagazine.co.uk